Miracle
by DevonLee
Summary: Meadow Snape met some special people on the train ride to Hogwarts. After, she has to balance time between friends, school, and her father. As she grows older, heavier decisions are made. Certain secrets are no longer kept. Friends will die. Tensions grow. Which side will Meadow pick? -Book 1 Complete.
1. 1 Unstable Beginnings

**Hello all! My name is DevonLee and I am the creator of this story-originally it was called Baby Miracle, so if you are an old fan, thank you and welcome back to the new and improved Meadow Snape! For you who are new, hello and welcome to the adventures of Meadow Snape! As I wrote this first chapter, I'm already loving the (new) direction I went with.**

**ANNOUNCEMENT: I will be posting in "bulk" meaning 3-4 chapters at a time! **

****I am announcing this during this chapter only: J.K. Rowling created and owns the Harry Potter universe apart from my own characters. **

**Enjoy this fanfic! Don't forget to let me know in the comments of if you love/hate this chapter and what you'd want to know! If you LOVE this fanfic, check out my other two stories based on Meadow's universe (currently unable, but keep an eye out for them!)! **

Miracle

_Meadow Snape grew up in a quiet neighborhood. The usual families of mothers and fathers going to work and caring for their children was never something that she was bothered with. As Meadow was the only child in the small community to be raised by a nanny during the week, and by her father on weekends and in the summer. Her mother was hospital bound by an unknown reason, where she lay in a coma state with very little hope of recovery. When Meadow travels to Hogwarts, she meets an unusual group of boys: Harry Potter, Shane Lupin, and Ron Weasley. After being sorted, she has a difficult time accepting her house due to the amount of fun she had on the train ride. With tensions rising, Meadow has to find the balance between her new friends' adventures and her housemates' patience._

_Follow Meadow through Hogwarts where she meets new challenges every year and shapes herself to prepare for the war in the coming years._

Chapter One: Unstable Beginnings

"_A week ago, Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived, received his Hogwarts letter. Escorted by the Keeper of Keys and Grounds, Rubeus Hagrid, the boy-who-lived finally emerged back into the wizarding world. Harry Potter vanquished You-Know-Who almost ten years ago was now getting his supplies for his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardly!—_"

Severus Snape stopped reading the article. Of course, Harry Potter would make the cover after being sent to live with his awful aunt and uncle in the Muggle world. Per Albus Dumbledore's orders, Potter would be sent to live with the only living relative whom shared Lily's blood, her sister Petunia. A dreadfully jealous brat, whom ruined her friendship with Lily because they both weren't witches. However, in order to keep Lily Potter's sacrifice alive. . . the boy had to live with Petunia. Severus shook his head, turned the paper, and sat at the breakfast bar facing toward the windows with his coffee in hand.

The windows, framed with yellow curtains, brought in a lot of light to the dark-furnished room. The cabinets, smooth and dark walnut stained, had grey, concrete countertops; all the appliances: refrigerator, oven, and microwave, were black. The stove-top and kitchen sink, a shiny silver. Throughout the countertops were little knickknacks: a black knife-holder, black French-Press coffee maker, a yellow vase with lilies, a silver basket that held apples and oranges, a trio of candles on a copper stand, and finally, a yellow, old clock; these things were collected by Sadie, Severus's fiancé whom spent her days in a coma at St. Mungo's. Since that damaging day, Severus didn't change a thing at the house. The things Severus and Sadie bought together when they first moved in together… they were too painful to get rid of, despite the low hope of recovery for his fiancé.

Sadie, of course, at the young age they were, decided that the childhood home Severus grew up in, was at the perfect location for a starter home. Thankfully, they had made major changes within the house and it no longer looked like Severus's tormented past. Though, Sadie promised Severus when the time came for a family and once, they saved up more money, they'd move away from the awful home. This never happened, as their family started unexpectedly and shortly after Sadie was no longer able to live in the home.

Severus closed his eyes and pinched his nose between his forefinger and thumb, pausing in time as he remembered his fiancé. He took a deep breath before he took a sip of his coffee and opened a different article in the _Daily Prophet_ as he waited for his daughter to wake up. An owl dropped off a very important letter this morning, causing for celebration and a trip to St. Mungo's and Diagon Alley. The letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardly proclaiming that Meadow was invited to attend the school to learn magic. Severus couldn't have been prouder.

He did not have to wait very long. Meadow bounded down the stairs, awake and full of energy at six o'clock in the morning. Her long, blonde, curly hair bouncing behind her as she slid into the chair diagonal from her father.

"Morning!" she said cheerfully and dug into the oatmeal Severus had prepared for her.

"Good morning," Severus responded dully; he was not a morning person, hence, the coffee. Of course, it did not help that he did not sleep very often. Originally, his poor sleeping patterns were due to being a professor at Hogwarts his first year. The following year or two, he couldn't remember, was due to Sadie's health condition. And those bad nights of not sleeping, became a habit.

"What's this?" Meadow pointed to the post on the counter.

Severus looked up from the paper with a pointed eyebrow, "It's for you."

Meadow's eyes widened in surprise; letting her spoon fall out of her hand, she grasped for the letter. An old parchment envelope held together by a wax stamp which bore the Hogwarts crest: a lion, eagle, badger, and snake in four corners with the large letter _H._ Quickly she turned it around, in green, swirly ink it read:

_Miss M. Snape_

_First Bedroom on the Left_

_Spinner's End, Cokeworth, England. _

She looked up with round eyes and exclaimed to her dad, "Is this what I think it is?"

He shrugged, "Open it."

Shaking with anticipation and excitement, she turned the letter back open, slipped her hand under the envelope flap and peeled off the wax. It made a slight "pop" as the stamp unstuck from the lower half of the envelope.

"HOGWARTS SCHOOL _of_ WITCHCRAFT _and _WIZARDRY

"_Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDOR (Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

"_Dear Miss Snape,_

"_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! Please find the enclosed list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September First. We await your owl by no later than August Thirty-First!"_ Meadow yelled out, causing her father to flinch with the sudden burst of energy. "I got in! I'm going to Hogwarts!"

Oatmeal forgotten, Meadow paraded around the kitchen waving the letter around; Severus hid his smile with his coffee mug as he went to take a drink.

"Ooooh!" She exclaimed and raced back over to the envelope. "I wonder what we'll need to pick up." Meadow stopped suddenly, though, she already knew everything the first years had to get. Numerous times she snuck into the library at night to read some of the books her dad collected. Collecting her thoughts of all of the potions she'd finally be able to brew on her own, she thought of the one thing that separated her from the other witches and wizards before Hogwarts; "I can get my wand! Dad! I can get my wand! Can we go today? Can we go right now?"

"No," Severus said sternly; he held up a hand as Meadow started to protest, "Not right now. You need to go get dressed and washed up. We will go today, but only AFTER YOU TELL YOUR MOTHER!" He called after her as she squealed, raced up the stairs, and slammed the bathroom door.

-.-.

Once Meadow had freshened up, she was waiting for her father by the fireplace in the reading room. The red, brown, and cream bricks spread across the one wall. She pulled her hair back into a side ponytail as she looked around the room. On one side of the room, large windows shown the backyard, where birds, foxes, squirrels, and bunnies ran wild; the windows had large, dark grey, silk curtains hanging from them. The walls were a light grey, though, barely any wall space was seen, as bookcases covered the remaining two interior walls. The bookcases housed many of her father's books he collected among the years, though they also held photo albums and books her mother put together and kept when she was mobile, and a variety of photos and small plants or decorative items were placed among the shelves. In front of the shorter-length wall—the one that stretched from the window to the hallway, opposite of the fireplace—had a desk in front of it, where her father would grade papers from his students during the school year.

Meadow sighed in relief, no more Ms. Kashmire, the nanny who would care for her when school was in session. Her father would come back on weekends for Ms. Kashmire to take a break, but during the week. . . Meadow was stuck with the older woman. The worst part was that Ms. Kashmire talked Severus into signing Meadow up for Muggle School.

So for the past six years, Meadow was taught: mathematics of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division; grammar and literacy; science on the planets and the sun, rocks and volcanos, and the ocean, lakes, and rivers; geography and world history; PSHE- personal, social, and health education; in Year 3, she started to learn French-Meadow was thankful she finished the last year of elementary French last school year; and finally, the fun classes of art, dance, drama, and physical education. Meadow's favorite subject was physical education, it was basically a glorified recess with a bunch of games and running around. The best thing ever.

Meadow's heart ached slightly as she thought of the Muggle school, as glad as she was to leave it, she would miss the boy she grew close with. His name was Shane Lupin. An awkward boy with medium-brown, shaggy hair, milk-chocolate brown eyes, freckles across his nose, chubby cheeks, and thin lips. The two had become close friends, best friends in fact. And a lot of the time after school, she'd head over to his house to escape Ms. Kashmire. Shane and his dad, Remus, were a hoot to be around; Remus was relaxed and easy going whereas Shane always nervous about something, and unlike Meadow, hated physical education class. The two hadn't seen each other since the end of school; Severus always had Meadow learning about the magical world during the summers, and he had signed her up for gymnastics since she was five as she was so energetic—or as Ms. Kashmire once said, "high spirited."

She caught her reflection in the mirror on the mantel above the fireplace; Meadow's black eyes stared back at her. She had on black, jean shorts, a grey short-sleeve t-shirt, and black flats. No need for a robe yet, as she didn't own a wand. Meadow's skin grew darker since the summer holiday started, and her hair, pulled up into a ponytail, was lighter than usual. Her hair would go darker in the winter and her skin would become lighter when there wasn't as much sunlight.

Finally, her father walked in, his robes flowing behind him, and grabbed the glass jar from the mantel, which held the Floo powder. "St. Mungo's first."

"But—" Meadow complained, eager to visit Diagon Alley to pick up her school items.

"No," her father cut her off firmly. "Mum would love to know."

The blonde nodded, always happy to visit her mom, but she'd rather go shopping first and then visit. As amazing as it was to visit her mother, it was always upsetting too.

Severus offered her the glass before pulling it back just as quickly. "No wandering off, and no changing your mind once you get into the fireplace. You know how the Floo works, you don't want to end up in a place you don't know."

"Yes, yes, I know; if I disobey, I'll be cleaning out the ingredient closet again," Meadow rolled her eyes and waved her hand in dismissal. It wasn't exactly the worst punishment, as it gave her new ingredients to look at; but cleaning it and reorganizing the store was a very slow and agonizing process. She reached out again for the jar, which her father let her take a handful of the powder as she stepped into the green fire. The cold flames sent a shutter down her spine, but she welcomed it, as the air today was suffocating.

"_St. Mungo's!"_ Meadow shouted and slapped the Floo powder into the coal.

Her stomach dropped as she was yanked into the Floo system. Spinning very fast, many fireplaces swirled around her, and she shut her eyes. Just as fast as she was pulled into the fireplace, she shot out of the one at St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. The Floo network in St Mungo's was in the only lower level of the hospital, away from the busy reception area, and located on the same floor as the morgue. It was a very dingy place, and everyone except staff and long-term resident visitors only knew of the wall entrance on the ground floor through a rundown department store in the Muggle world.

Meadow stood up and dusted herself off, though, it was pointless because her dad would perform a cleaning spell once he got there. Looking around, she took in the familiar room. The white, dirty stone walls were empty, and the single, white-painted door was pealing. A small rumble was heard from the fireplace right before Severus shot out of the flames. As expected, Severus pulled out his wand to eliminate the ash from their clothes. The two walked out of the room, down the hallway that was built in the same dirty white stone, and up the stairwell, which was much cleaner than the basement level.

Severus led her up to the reception area, which served as a waiting room for the regular hospital ailments, a waiting room for emergencies, and where visitors would check-in before going off in the hospital. Taking in the surroundings, today was extremely busy for the hospital. The rickety, wooden chairs had many witches and wizards occupying them; some reading outdated copies of _Witch Weekly_ and _The Daily Prophet_, others had gruesome disfigurements like bird talons for hands or extra noses on their faces. It was very loud in the room, for many were talking and others were making very weird or painful noises.

The two walked up to the reception desk, where Violet sat, looking very flustered and annoyed. "Take this and fill it out, one of the Healers will be with you in the next thirty minutes," Violet said harshly, not looking up from her scribbled notes, and held up a clipboard.

"Violet," Severus said. The two were not friends, but not strangers either. As Severus and Meadow would visit Sadie often.

At the sound of her name, she looked up from her parchment. As her nametag had written "_VIOLET BAGNOLD- Receptionist_" most people would call her Miss Bagnold, due to sharing the last name as the retired Minister, Millicent Bagnold. "Sir—" She started saying sternly and then caught eyes with the two Snapes. "Severus! Meadow! Good to see you. It's been a bloody mess in here today. It's worse than last summer!"

They looked around the room, witches and wizards in lime-green robes walked up and down the rows, asking questions and making notes. There was the hospital's emblem embroidered on their chests: a wand and bone, crossed. This was a symbol of St Mungo's staff; Violet had one on her chest too, except her robes were a dark grey, showing she was not a healer.

"It looks like it," Meadow commented before pulling her gaze from the busy room and back to Violet. The witch was younger than the medics, though, she did look older than usual with bags under her purple eyes and her dark brown hair was ruffled. She had a few ink stains on her hands and cheeks.

Violet passed a different clipboard to them to fill out, a visitor check-in paper so there were records of who was there to visit patients. "Yes, it's been a complete mess today. There were a few emergencies with a couple trying to create a potion and it backfired, almost took out a whole block of people with random wounds. So, the nonemergency injuries have been backed up for hours, even with calling in more staff members. It seems that today the whole country has decided to be accident-prone."

Severus handed the clipboard to Meadow to write her name, who she was visiting, what floor the patient was on, and the time of arrival. They'd have to stop down and sign out when they leave. "Any news?" Severus asked Violet, talking about Sadie.

Violet shook her head, "The same as always, but you know she'll be happy to see you both!"

Meadow handed the clipboard back to Violet and a line started to form behind them, a couple behind them rushed up to the desk before the Snapes could say anything back.

"My boyfriend was bit by a—" the woman's voice rushed out before Violet cut her off.

"Fill this out and a healer to come by within thirty minutes."

Severus grabbed Meadow's shoulders and steered her to the stairwell again. A sign by the door stated the floors and departments:

GROUND FLOOR- RECEPTION and ARTEFACT ACCIDENTS

FIRST FLOOR- CREATURE-INDUCED INJURIES

SECOND FLOOR- MAGICAL BUGS and DISEASES

THIRD FLOOR- POTIONS and PLANT POISONING

FOURTH FLOOR- SPELL DAMAGE and LONG-TERM RESIDENTS

FIFTH FLOOR- VISITORS' TEAROOM and HOSPITAL SHOP

The two headed up to the fourth floor, and towards the Janus Thickey Ward, also known as ward 49, where the long-term residents stayed. Butterflies filled Meadow's stomach as they grew closer to the room where her mother resided; mostly just because she wasn't sure if she wanted to link cores or not. She knew she should, it was one of the only ways the healers got any progress reports on Sadie.

Meadow was only six months old when her mother, Sadie Beckard, 20 years old at the time, was caught in a crossfire of spells. She wasn't killed, instead, she was put in a coma-like state with a very slim chance at recovery. The healers can produce updates on physical activity, which was none, and brain activity—off the charts. Sadie's mind was constantly working. However, the only way to monitor her brain activity apart from scans and the machines, was through Severus and Meadow… they found a new link between family members and complete comatose patients; they're able to link cores to communicate. Sadie's been the only one to be documented; of course, that wasn't surprising, most other residents who were spell damaged had different symptoms going on-mostly not knowing who they were or why they were in the hospital.

The medics still were uncertain of why Sadie's core would link with Severus's or Meadow's cores. As her core would not link with anyone other than the two Snapes, the current theory involved her only linking with loved ones. Yet, when Meadow's grandparents went to visit Sadie, they did not have the same link. It was all very complicated, but the healers liked hearing from Severus and Meadow on what happened when they linked cores with Sadie. It gave them more information to research and write down; in hopes of finding a way to bring Sadie back.

When the two Snapes entered the ward, they were greeted by Alice Longbottom, a very thin and worn-looking woman, a round face that seemed to have lost the plump cheeks she once had and short dark hair with grey starting to appear throughout the years. She gave a very timid wave, before turning around and toddling back towards her room with her husband, Frank Longbottom.

Severus stopped to talk to one of the Healers on the ward, Miriam Strout, she was a very motherly-looking healer. She was plump witch, with mousy brown hair pulled back into a bun, she too wore the lime-green healer robes. Meadow gave her a wave who smiled back as she talked to Severus.

As Meadow passed the Longbottom's curtain room, she saw Frank sitting on the bed with his son, Neville. A clipboard with paper and a quill sat on it, a bunch of scribbled lines on it. "Hi Neville," Meadow said softly; glad she saw a familiar face among the adults and residents. The two bonded over their parents, as each child would visit the hospital often.

The plump boy looked very much like his mother. He had a round face, rosy cheeks, and hazel eyes; his hair was blonde, the only gene he seemed to receive from his father.

"Meadow, hi!" Neville said as he jumped up from the bed; he tripped over his feet and fell. "Gran went up for tea," he commented as he stood back up; he noticed she looked around the room for his stern grandmother. "I didn't think I'd see you today."

"Came to tell my Mum the good news," Meadow broke into a large grin, "I received my Hogwarts letter today!"

"Congratulations!" Neville cheered. He paused and looked back at his parents, both absent-mindedly looking at the two with vague smiles. Frank waved, and the two waved back. "I'm nervous myself, what if my gran thinks I never live up to my parents' reputations?"

Meadow patted his shoulder, "I'm sure you will. Hogwarts is a place for us to learn magic, right? We've got four houses we could be sorted into, to expand on us." Neville's parents, heroes of the Longbottom name, were tortured to near death by people called Death Eaters. However, Alice and Frank's fate was worse than death, they'll be cognitively impaired for the rest of their lives, including, not knowing who Neville was.

Neville shook his head as his lip quivered, "The only house there for me is Hufflepuff. It's the laugh of Hogwarts, just like me."

"Poppycock," a sharp voice said behind them. "Gryffindor is the place for you. It would make your parents proud."

Neville's grandmother stood tall in her deep green robes with a fur collar, and a brown sunhat on today; her white hair was in a tight knot, her forehead, corners of her eyes and mouth had wrinkles that made her look slightly vulture-like, though, her strong cheekbones and piercing light brown eyes gave the illusion of young beauty. Augusta Longbottom was a very prim and proper woman; hardly surprising as she came from and married into a long line of respected pureblood witches and wizards. "I take you finally received your letter?" she directed towards Meadow, whom nodded respectfully.

"Yes, Mrs. Longbottom, I received it today. I came to tell Mum today before Dad takes me to Diagon Alley for my school supplies," Meadow responded, her onyx eyes looked up at the older witch with much admiration and fear.

"Very good," Augusta responded. She paused and her lip curled as she caught sight of someone she found unpleasant. "Snape." Augusta paused as she narrowed her eyes at the eldest Snape. "I assume you will be teaching Potions again this year?"

Severus had quietly walked up to the three. "Yes."

"Neville, you do well to pay attention to his class." With that, Augusta went and sat by her son, greeting him with a rare smile as Frank hugged her.

"Well, I'll see you at school?" Neville squeaked, his voice shaking. He was very scared of Severus already, as Meadow's father did have a frightening exterior.

Meadow nodded and bid the boy farewell. She and her father headed down one curtain and across the hallway to Sadie's room; where her mother laid in bed, she was rolled on her right side slightly in an awkward position. Severus went and fixed Sadie's arm to rest on the bed, so it looked more like she was sleeping than frozen. He brushed her hair off her face and kissed her cheek.

Meadow stood at the end of the bed, leaning against the footrest, and watched her father with her mother. He was amazing to her, even in her state; Meadow wished she would have seen them both active together. She did have a grand time imagining Sadie waking up, immediately jumping into Severus's arms before turning to Meadow crying with happiness on how grown-up she was. Severus straightened up, "I'm going to go get her new flowers." He grabbed the vase on the end table that held dying _Lilium canadense_, or more commonly known as the Canada lily or meadow lily and gave her a pointed look. He wanted Meadow to link cores with Sadie. As Severus left the room, he pulled the remaining curtain closed.

The Fourth-Floor, long-term residents had a wide-opened room with curtains separating each patient. Of course, Frank and Alice Longbottom had a double room since they were married. And Sadie had a single room. It didn't really matter anyway, Frank, Alice, and Sadie were the only permanent patients on the floor. All the other long-term spell damaged people had come and gone within weeks or months, making a full recovery. At least it was nice where all residents got their own privacy curtains.

Meadow took a deep breath, picked up her mom's hand, and closed her eyes. Immediately she felt the tug on her sternum; where her magical core lay underneath, next to her heart. She let herself be pulled in by her Mum.

When Meadow opened her eyes, she saw her mom, smiling from ear to ear, and her eyes smizing. It was relatively sunny in Sadie's mind right now. It did wonders for her mother's beauty. Meadow always thought Sadie was a gorgeous woman: long, loose curls in her blonde hair shinned in the sunlight; her olive skin tone with freckles scattered among her face, neck, and arms; her nose was straight, petite, and slightly upturned- an adorable button nose; her mouth had a smaller upper lip compared to her full bottom lip, but her smile was incredible; and, her bright green eyes had speckles of yellow around her pupil and framed perfectly by light brown eyebrows. Meadow admired her mother most, for her daring ear piercings: she had double pierced lobes-which held two diamonds in her right ear and two gold hoops in her left, and her left ear also held a small diamond stud in her tragus, and two gold hoops in her upper ear cartilage, a double helix piercing.

"Meadow! Baby!" Sadie cried and outstretched her arms. "It's so good to see you!"

"Hi, Mum," Meadow responded with a smile and went in for the hug.

Sadie's arms enveloped her, she smelled of lavender and lemongrass; something Meadow always sought comfort in. Sadie had that effect on people—being welcomed and not judged in her eyes. Meadow felt that openhearted aurora from her mother. When the two broke apart Meadow looked around. They were at a park, where there was a forest with mountains and hiking trails on one side, and on the other, a few benches and a body of water with a beach. There were no clouds in the sky, a good sign so far; it must be a good day today.

"So, what's the special occasion?" Sadie asked happily as she and Meadow sat down at one of the wood benches.

Meadow broke into a grin. "I got my Hogwarts letter today," she said excitedly.

"That's amazing, Sweetheart!" Sadie cheered, though her voice caught slightly. "I can't believe you're going to Hogwarts this year."

"Dad's going to take me to Diagon Alley after we leave," Meadow said proudly. "I can get my books and read through some of them!"

A rumble of thunder came from the distance, and Meadow looked up at the sky. Across from the lake, dark clouds were rolling in very fast. "Mum, it's okay," Meadow bit her lip. "It's really not that big of a deal. . . we always knew I'd go to Hogwarts."

"Oh—" Sadie hesitated. "I know, Sweetheart. I just can't believe that much time has passed already. . . it seems like just yesterday we were excitedly chatting about Hogwarts when you were six. . . my little girl. . . growing up without me. . . " Beneath the dark clouds was a heavy pour of steady rain.

"Mum, you will always be apart of my life." Meadow said, her onyx eyes wide with the uncomfortable turn of events. "I'll always come visit you. And just because you're not physically there doesn't mean you're not here for me."

Lightening flashed in the storm that was heading towards the mother and daughter. Meadow hesitated and reached out to Sadie. "Mum, please. I want you to be happy."

Sadie choked, half in laughter and half sobs. "I am happy, Dear," her bright green eyes locked with Meadow's black orbs. Meadow always wished she had her mother's eyes, they looked stunning; even now, when Sadie had tears in her eyes. "I just wish I could be there like a normal mother. I—I can't believe my baby is eleven."

Meadow smiled sadly, it was very much like her mother to get dates mixed up. Not that she blamed Sadie at all, stuck in her own mind, living in unknown conditions. "I'm still ten, I promise. In a week I'll have my birthday. And—and Dad and I will come visit again. We'll spend the day here, with you. We'll throw a birthday party together."

The storm was growing closer, touching the beach now. Meadow's eyes widened. . . should she have not said she'd come to celebrate her birthday here? The storm was miles away before, and now it's merely feet away.

"I'd like that," Sadie said as she wiped her eyes. She stood up from the bench and offered a hand to her daughter, "Come now, the storm is much too close to be by the water." She led Meadow away from the thunderstorm and towards the hiking trails.

"Your father—" Sadie stated and closed her eyes. Meadow felt part of Sadie's presence in her body leave.

Then, Severus appeared by the mouth of a trail. Meadow's mum went running to her dad; their daughter of the two looked back at the storm, it had faded slightly into the distance. She walked towards her parents and they were in the middle of saying hello to each other. Severus gave Sadie a quick peck on the lips before pulling apart.

"How are you today?" He asked quietly.

Sadie broke into tears, this time the whole sky turned a tar-black. Meadow chewed her lip as she looked around at the park, where sun and peace had just lay; now there were angry thunderclouds swirling around, the waves of water in the lake were thrashing around, the sweet smell of rain flowed from the sky, the harsh thunder vibrated the ground, and the bright flashes of lightening illuminated the area.

A harsh wind whipped Meadow's hair around and the first drop of water hit her face. A second later, huge, missile-like raindrops poured from the sky and pelted the three. Sadie was loosing it; she was too upset.

"Meadow!" Severus's voice called.

Hardly able to see a few inches in front of her, she staggered in the wind, and followed his voice. A strong set of hands pulled her close, the scent of something overpowering sweet and earthy filled her nose: her father. He always smelt like potions ingredients; all of which, came from nature.

"Dad?" Meadow asked and looked up. Sadie had started to run across the grass, away from the two.

"I'll try to calm her down," he said quietly, though his voice was heard over the roaring wind and rain. "What did you say to her?" His voice hardened as he asked.

The two met eyes and though Meadow knew her father would search her mind, she said, "I told her we'd come visit on my birthday—that we could celebrate it together!"

Tears formed in her eyes, she blamed herself for Sadie's nightmare of a visit; Severus gave her a melancholy look. "I'll talk to her." He shook his head and pinched his hooked nose between his thumb and forefinger; clearly troubled. "Roam the hospital, if you must. But do not leave it's premises."

Meadow nodded, her lower lip trembling as she was close to crying; she didn't want to be the reason her mother was upset. She watched as her father briskly walked after her mother- whom had tripped and fell into a pile of mud from the heart of the storm's glory. Even soaked to the brim with dirty water and soil, Sadie still managed to look beautiful.

Slowly, Meadow pulled away from Sadie's hold. Hoping to feel the tug to stay as she unattached herself from her mother, Meadow felt herself disappear from the awful storm and back to the physical world. No pull from her mother to stay and Meadow opened her eyes. She let go of her mother's hand, wiped her eyes, and stood up from the hospital bed.

Her father sat, slightly slumped, in the fluffy, green armchair next to the bed, with his arms crossed over his chest and eyes closed. Under his eyelids, his eyes were moving around fast. Chewing her lip and sniffling, Meadow headed out of the room, brushing the curtain aside slightly before replacing it back so the room was closed off again. As she walked passed the Longbottoms' room, she stole a peak inside, Neville and his grandmother were no longer there. Alice was staring out of the window and Frank was scribbling circles on the clipboard from earlier. She wasn't sure if she was relieved or upset that the boy wasn't there, not that she'd ever tell him about the disaster of a visit; Neville knew how to take her mind off of her mother's condition. Much like she was able to keep his mind off of his parents' conditions.

Meadow headed up a floor to the visitor's tearoom and giftshop area. With each step she took, she inhaled deeply, paused, and exhaled. Her mother's visions weren't to be taken to heart. The storms were the most occurring, as they were a sign of Sadie being upset—which she was a lot when Meadow was there. More upset about not physically being present in life, rather than at Meadow. It was heartbreaking, to see her mother upset so much; especially since there was nothing Meadow could do to help.

Helplessness. An awful feeling that twisted her stomach and left a sour taste in Meadow's mouth; was a feeling that she hated. Being completely incompetent was not something Meadow enjoyed. Wrinkling her nose up she headed over towards Loralai Smethwyck, the witch in charge of the Tea Room. The little dinner offered different tea and coffee flavors, a wide range of baked goods, and a few different types of sandwiches for the visitors- as each patient or resident had their own diet to follow or was allowed to request certain meals to be made.

"Good morning, Meadow!" Loralai said cheerfully as she finished pouring a drink for another visitor.

"Morning, Loralia," Meadow replied dully. Even the sight of the stern witch didn't turn Meadow's frown upside-down.

"Do you want your usual?" Loralai asked as she grabbed a mug.

Meadow shook her head and propped her arms up on the counter—there was no line for the tea shop, and Loralia allowed it.

"Rough day with your mum?" the dark-skinned woman asked, her voice softer, and the Snape nodded. "Ah, come now, Meadow. Don't let it bother you too much. What happened today?"

Loralai knew about Sadie's condition and her ability to link cores with Meadow and Severus. Her son, Hippocrates Smethwyck, was training to be a healer on the Janus Thickey Ward. He just graduated from Hogwarts earlier that year, though he's stated he'd rather be in the Dangerous Dai Llewellyn Ward—the first floor that covered serious bites. The healer training when hired at St. Mungo's involved the two years the new hire would bounce from ward to ward—splitting the twenty-four months up into three months. So in Hippocrates's case, his first rotation was the Janus Thickey Ward; he'd be working on the floor until mid-September. Another month of having Hippocrates on the floor; Meadow wasn't exactly a fan of Hippocrates, he did amazing healing, but complained constantly about being on the "boring" floor. How Loralai and Hippocrates were mother and son, Meadow couldn't figure it out, the two were very different from each other.

"She got upset about my Hogwarts letter coming today. . ." Meadow replied and shook her head.

"You got your Hogwarts letter?" Loralai exclaimed. "How can you be that old already?" The older witch winked at Meadow; she had seen the younger Snape grow up into an older child before her very eyes. With each visit Meadow becoming more like her father-whether it was good or bad, Loralai wasn't sure yet.

"Well, I'm not even eleven yet," Meadow rolled her eyes. "Next week."

"I could never forget," Loralai responded and handed Meadow a tea cup with a turkey sandwich. "Your father taking you to Diagon Alley for you school things today?"

Meadow nodded as she took a slip of her tea, "I wish we did it before we came to visit though. . . I always manage to upset her."

"Oh hush now," Loralai tutted at the young girl. "You know your mother struggles because she feels ineffectual. And _you_ should know how frustrating that feeling is," the baker gave Meadow a pointed look.

Meadow threw an unamused look at Loralai, "Okay! I'll try to have more patience with her."

"Good, now move along. You're holding up the line," the witch barked at her, gesturing for Meadow to scoot along. She did, moving over to a small round table and brushed off some crumbs from the previous customer.

Although sometimes harsh, Loralai gave Meadow the tough love she needed from an outsider's point of view without any medical interpretation, or Violet's "She always does better with you here!" hopefulness. No. Loralai was blunt, no matter how awful the truth was sometimes; that witch would tell it how it is. Meadow admired the woman; though Loralai did remind Meadow of Neville Longbottom's grandmother, she was less scary and more matronly.

Meadow set down her cup of tea and pealed open the sandwich looking at what was all contained in it. Turkey, cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, with mayo spread on it; she put the toasted bread back on and took a bite. Loralai's cooking was amazing, much better than her father's. . . Not that Meadow would ever tell Severus his meals weren't as good as the tea shop manager's.

-.-.

Around a half hour later, Severus came up to the Tea Shop and gathered Meadow up to leave the hospital.

"Did you manage to calm Mum down?" Meadow asked as he grew closer.

Severus nodded, "She's fine now. Asked if we could come back after shopping so she can talk to you."

"Oh," Meadow whispered, not expecting a second visit in one day. "I suppose."

"Clean up, we have a lot to do today," her father said gruffly as he stood, waiting for Meadow.

Once the table was clean and Loralai had the cup and plate, Meadow squealed and skipped over to her father, ready to head to Diagon Alley.

-.-.

**Yeah! Chapter One concluded! I hope you all enjoy this first chapter, let me know in the comments!**


	2. 2 Ended with the Start

**So I also realized that it was a tad unrealistic that Meadow, a girl whom knew of the Wizarding world, would grow up not being introduced to certain families, especially with the change of households. Hence, the new and updated version of this chapter. I am absolutely in love with this direction and I hope you all are too!**

**I hope you all enjoyed Chapter One! **

**Continuing on the same day with Chapter Two: **

Miracle

_Once the table was clean and Loralai had the cup and plate, Meadow squealed and skipped over to her father, ready to head to Diagon Alley. _

Chapter Two: Ended with the Start

Instead of Floo Powder, the Snapes traveled by apparition to a small alley across from the Leaky Cauldron. The front of Diagon Alley, a place where only witches and wizards could reach. Built in the early 1500s, the Leaky Cauldron is one of the oldest buildings in Diagon Alley. A small, dingy, and welcoming pub was masked by the broken-down, old shop on Charing Cross Road to acted as a doorway from the Muggle world to the Wizarding world; and Diagon Alley was one of few only wizarding towns in Great Britain.

Severus grabbed Meadow around the shoulders and led her out of the alleyway and onto the sidewalk, a few Muggles were walking by, and a mother-son went into the bookshop on the left of the pub. The enchantments on the building kept Muggles from wandering into the bar, or rather, from seeing the bar at all. To Muggles, there's an old, broken-down shop front between the bookshop and record store; the sidewalk in front of the pub made Muggles feel unwelcome, making sure no one would wander into the bar. The Snapes headed through the old, metal door that was hidden behind a small wall, and out of the sunlight.

Inside the Leaky Cauldron, the lights were dimmed with a few candles lit among the room. The bar looked so old it seemed like a gust of wind could knock it over- of course, Meadow knew differently, as the magic on the grounds prevented it from falling apart. Old decorations from previous decades were placed around the ground floor, some covered in a thick layer of dust and cobwebs. A large, old wood table was in the middle of the room and several smaller tables of all shapes and heights were scattered around in the edges of the area.

A few people were in the pub, sitting at the bar with drinks in their hands, chatting with Tom, the landlord and bartender, and the other patrons.

"Mr. Snape, a pleasure to see you!" Tom said. He was an older man with balding gray hair. "And Miss Meadow is with you today!" He added cheerfully as he caught sight of the youngest Snape. "Big day ahead of you today?"

Meadow nodded politely, "Yes, Sir. I got my Hogwarts letter today!"

"Congratulations! You hear that everyone? Miss Meadow is attending Hogwarts this year!" Tom said loudly to the seven customers, all of whom were immersed in their own conversations.

"Cheers!" A few said and raised their drinks up while the others smiled or clapped.

"Thank you, Tom," Severus said sharply. "If you don't mind, we'll be on our way."

"Of course," the landlord kept a smile on his face as he gestured towards the hallway that led into the courtyard.

Severus steered Meadow towards the entrance to Diagon Alley. The small courtyard was nearly as dingy as the inside with overgrown weeds and long grass. It was chilly in the small outdoor area of the lodge, maybe due to the tall building surrounding it or maybe it was the wind that bounced off all the walls. The stone pathway also had weeds coming through the cracks and Meadow nearly tripped over a tree root as the two walked towards the most worn and old-looking brick wall.

Her father pulled out his wand and tapped the bricks by the trash cans. Three up and two across. The bricks immediately wiggled into action, pulling back and rearranging into a large arch. . . revealing Diagon Alley.

Meadow breathed in deeply as the sights and smells of Diagon Alley engulfed her. The cobble-stone street twisted and turned out of sight among the numerous shops on it. The two stepped forward and the archway shank down into a solid wall once more.

This wasn't her first time in Diagon Alley, but it was the most important time she'd ever step into the street. The sun brightly lit up the shop signs and heated up Meadow's skin as the two walked down the street towards Gringotts, the wizard bank.

The August sunshine making the experience even sweeter. Meadow continued to take in all of Diagon Alley, though, it looked just as it always had with fun store signs and window decorations and a number of people hurriedly walking everywhere. Severus, dressed in all black, walked ahead of Meadow, his robes swishing in his brisk pace. Shopping was not something her father was a fan of, unless it included potions ingredients.

Meadow's dad glanced back at her often, and finally, slowed and stepped aside to reveal the wizard bank. Large, white marble walls rose, like a diamond in the rough, above the other shops. White marble stairs led up to white pillars framed the giant, arched doorway. The doors were made of a heavy, bronze metal with gold knobs and swirling decorations on the front. On either side of the door, a goblin stood in a uniform of scarlet and gold, each holding a staff.

The goblins, about three-fourths of a head shorter than Meadow, had clever, twitchy faces, large noses, elongated, pointed ears, and very long fingers and feet. The two bowed as the Snapes walked into the bank and Meadow gave them both a forced, awkward smile.

A second pair of silver doors stood just as tall once they walked in, also with goblins on either side in the same uniform. There were words engraved on these doors said:

_Enter, stranger, but take heed  
Of what awaits the sin of greed,  
For those who take, but do not earn,  
Must pay most dearly in their turn.  
So if you seek beneath our floors  
A treasure that was never yours,  
Thief, you have been warned, beware  
Of finding more than treasure there._

Meadow gulped slightly, each time she read that message it grew more terrifying. She passed through the doors and caught up to her father, whom was standing in front of a goblin showing him the Snapes' key. The marble hall had long counters stretching from the doors all the way down to the end of the hall, before the goblins would lead the wizards and witches down the hallway that continued to stretch the long room to appear even larger. Barely any candles had to be lit to have the room shine brightly as most of the sunlight poured in from the two large, round, stain glass window on the far side of the hall. Two large, crystal chandeliers dangled from the ceiling and the sunlight sparkled around the room after hitting those large diamonds.

"Meadow, there you are," Severus said as he frowned at her. "Come, Gornuk is taking us to the vault."

Gornuk, the goblin who would usually take care of them. Meadow had yet to encounter a different goblin to take them to the Snape vault. Gornuk led them down the long hallway, through yet another door (this one was a dark wood with gold swirls and engravings), to the dark tunnels lit by torches. A pathway was separated by a steep drop-off where tracks lay.

Meadow blinked a few times until her eyes adjusted to the darkness as Gornuk whistled and a cart came forward from the tracks beyond Meadow's sight. The two sat down and Gornuk, standing at the front of the cart holding a wheel of sorts, whistled once more. The cart jumped to life and hurdled down a maze of passages.

Meadow sat smiling and eyes watering as the speed of the cart whipped cold air against her face. She always enjoyed the ride, it was like riding a rollercoaster at a Muggle amusement park (Mrs. Kashmire used to make her do "normal" kid things; at least she was able to do all those Muggle things with Shane Lupin and his father). Underneath Gringotts was a maze of cart tracks spinning off in different directions and heights. It was truly magnificent. Just as quickly as it all started, the cart halted to a screechy stop.

Vault 493.

Nothing fancy or magical, however, it kept the Snape's money safe and sound. Granted, anyone crazy enough to break into Gringotts had a nut loose in their brain. They climbed out of the cart, Severus looking unamused as always.

"Key please," Grunok said as he held out his long-fingered hand.

Severus handed over the key. Grunok took it, scrapped his equally long fingernail against the door, revealing the keyhole. The goblin put the key in and turned it. The door clicked, and a series of pops echoed down the poorly lit tunnel. The metal door swung open to reveal the small fortune that continued to deplete throughout the years.

Meadow's dad took out two money bags and filled them. As he did that Meadow looked around the vault. There were more things than just galleons, sickles, and knuts; there were many books scattered around on the tables, a few family heirlooms which included rings and goblets, and gemstones of a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. Something that always caught Meadow's eye was a large, battered book that sat upon a pedestal at the far end of the vault. Unknowingly, Meadow's feet carried her closer to the book. The brown cover had been warped and the color varied from dark to light brown depending on where it had been handled. There were two thick, gold brackets wrapped around the spine, holding the book together.

"Meadow. Time to go," Severus's sharp voice called out in the silence, causing Meadow to jerk her head up.

"Right, sorry," she muttered as they returned to the cart.

Grunok whistled, one more and the cart spun rapidly before jolting off towards ground level. Meadow bid the goblin a polite "thank you" farewell and before she knew it, she was standing in the hot, August sun.

Her father pulled her to the side of the Gringotts' entrance and pulled out the smaller money bag. "I will gather your cauldron, phials, telescope, and brass scales. You will go get your robes and wand," He said seriously as he knelt in front of her. "I have some business to tend to. Do _not_ go wandering off. And under no circumstance will you go into Knockturn Alley. _Understand?_"

"Yes, Dad," Meadow said in a small voice, scared of the punishment her father would come up with for exploring the Dark alley.

"Good," he handed her the money bag. "Now tell me, what are you doing today?"

"I am getting my robes and wand," Meadow replied, a big grin on her face as she thought about her own wand.

"What else?" Severus pressed.

"I am not going into Knockturn Alley no matter what circumstances come up," she recited. "I know the drill."

"And if you need to get ahold of me?" He continued.

"I press the ring three times," Meadow responded. "Really, Dad, I'll be fine. Take care of your business, and don't get too caught up in the ingredient store—we already have more than enough."

Severus let a rare smile form on his face, "One can never have too many ingredients."

Meadow shook her head and rolled her eyes. To prove she could handle herself, she pressed the gold ring on her thumb, three times. The replica ring on Severus's hand turned a slight rose color as it heated from the signal. "Give me a little faith, we've been to Diagon Alley before. I know my way around, and if I get lost, I'll call."

The ring that Meadow wore for as long as she could remember, was linked to her father's ring with a protean charm. Severus taught her about the properties of this ring when he gave it to her for Christmas two years ago. It was a way for Meadow to feel closer to her father when she missed him dearly during the school year. As he resided at Hogwarts during the week and sometimes a few weekends depending on who's turn it was to stay on campus.

"Good. When you feel that from me, meet me at Flourish and Blotts," Severus said, serious again.

"Okay, okay," Meadow waved her hand. "A watch would really come in handy now," she muttered, and her father raised an eyebrow.

"Only buy your robes and wand," Severus said. "You only have enough money for those things."

"Alright," she groaned. "Are we going to stand here all day?"

"Go on, then," he said.

Meadow squealed in delight and she darted off the front stairs of the bank and into the crowd. She darted through the witches and wizards to Ollivander's Wand Shop first. Meadow took a deep breath and peered into the old shop. The windows were fairly dirty and she couldn't exactly see in clearly, but it looked deserted. She opened the wood door and the bell above her jingled.

Chewing her lip, Meadow approached the counter cautiously; though, she stopped in her tracks as she saw Mr. Ollivander helping another student. Both of which were too immersed in the wand hunt to notice the bell. The student had white-blond hair slicked back and a form-fitted, black tailored suit. Meadow couldn't help but smirk, it was Draco Malfoy. An uptight boy she had known since she was a baby. Their parents were good friends and often visited each other during the summer holidays. There were times Meadow spent a few weeks at the Malfoy Manor, though, it wasn't as pleasant as one would think in a mansion.

"Let's try this," Mr. Ollivander's paper-thin voice said as he handed over a wand. Draco picked up the wand and waved it with purpose, his nose stuck up in the air in false confidence. Meadow knew that from the times spent with him and his family.

A light luminated the room and a warm wind filled the air. "Ah!" the wandmarker exclaimed. "I think your wand finally found you. Ten inches, Hawthorn, with a unicorn hair."

Draco smiled, "Finally. I've been here for ages."

"The wand chooses the wizard, Mr. Malfoy," Mr. Ollivander scolded the boy gently. Draco put his galleons up on the desk as the wandmaker repaired the various items around the shop.

Meadow slowly inched forward, hoping to scare her friend. "Draco!" she said into his ear loudly.

The boy spun around violently, and red sparks shot out of his newly purchased wand. "Merlin's beard, Doe!" He cried out as he caught sight of her.

"Hi," She replied with a smug grin, "Got you."

Draco rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment, "I guess so."

Meadow laughed and shrugged. "Finally! It's been ages since I've been able to do that."

The boy grinned, "It's good to see you." He hugged her quickly, something he knew Meadow had been itching to do since she saw him.

"You too! I'm surprised you're here, I thought you would have got your wand as soon as you got your letter!" She rushed out as the two pulled away.

"Dad kept wanting me to try Granddad's wand, tried to use it a few times and it turned out to be a disaster each time," Draco responded. "Mum checked out wands last week, to make sure Mr. Ollivander would sell me a wand discreetly. I finally got to come here. . . " he trailed off as he glanced back at Mr. Ollivander, whom was roaming the shelves putting back the wands Draco had tried before finding his match, and Meadow nodded.

She knew what Draco's father was like; Lucius Malfoy was a very proud man, and someone no one would never want to cross. There were harsh consequences to those who crossed him, those in the community as Lucius was able to bribe his way into the higher social class, and those even in his family. More than once, when Meadow and her father went to visit, she found fading bruises on Draco.

"Here to get your wand too?" Draco asked, changing the subject.

Meadow nodded again, "Yep! Do you want to stick around?" She asked excitedly, "I wouldn't mind the company."

Draco looked at the silver watch on his left wrist. "Yeah, I have time. Mum won't be here for another hour. She 'had business to attend to.'"

"Weird, my dad said the same thing," Meadow frowned.

The pale boy shrugged. "Go on, then," he said, gesturing at the desk. The words echoed her father's shortly before she arrived at the wand shop and she blinked at him, swearing Draco's voice sounded just like Severus's voice.

Meadow shook her head and headed up to the desk as Draco pondered which chair was the least disgusting to sit in as he waited.

Mr. Ollivander approached smiling, though his grey hair stuck up in odd places, making him look like a slight madman. He was very thin and despite his shoulders starting to hunch over, he was tall. Mr. Ollivander's pale skin was no surprise to Meadow either, as she assumed the wandmaker did not travel out of his dimly lit shop very often.

"Who we have here?" He asked, his pale eyes met her dark orbs.

"Meadow, sir. Meadow Snape," she bit her lip, it was a bad nervous habit of hers.

"Snape. . . " Mr. Ollivander said thoughtfully. "Relation to Severus Snape?"

"Yes, he's my father," Meadow responded.

"And your mother?" the wandmaker questioned.

"Sadie Beckard."

"Oh what a lovely woman," Mr. Ollivander replied with a smile.

"You knew her?" Meadow gasped.

He smiled, "Of course, I remember every witch and wizard who comes into my shop for their very first wand!"

"Everyone?" she asked, her eyes widened. This man must have one hell of a memory despite how old he was.

"Indeed," Mr. Ollivander replied and held out his hand for her arm. "Your wand arm, please."

Meadow placed her right arm in his worn hand. A measuring tape came down from his other hand and Mr. Ollivander made a note of the various measurements he made. Tutting to himself, the wandmaker headed down the aisle of stacked wands.

Meadow turned and raised an eyebrow at Draco, whom rolled his grey eyes and shrugged. She wandered over to him after noting that Mr. Ollivander was still pondering wands to bring forward.

"Did he do this with you, too?" She asked him softly.

"Yes. I don't know how much good it did though, it took at least twenty minutes to find this one," Draco lifted the wand box. "He's coming back."

"Ooh!" Meadow smiled, ear to ear as she hurried back up to the counter.

The older man had five boxes in his arms has he made his way towards Meadow. Mr. Ollivander put the boxes down and grabbed the first. Carefully opening the top, he showed her the light and dainty wand. "Ten inches, ash wood, and unicorn hair," he said softly and offered it to her.

Excitement rolled off Meadow as she picked up the wand. Immediately after her fingertips touched the wood, it set off angry sparks that hissed as it collided with a pitcher of water. The glass splintered and the water burst into a cloud of steam.

"No, not that one," Mr. Ollivander said as he snatched the wand back. "Let's try. . . " he trailed off as he grabbed a different box and opened it. "Nine and a half inches, ivy vine, and phoenix feather."

This wand looked very handsome, a dense, medium brown color with leaf engravings that were thick at the bottom of the wand before coming sparser. Not deterred by the first wand's impression, Meadow picked up this wand with just as much joy as before. The reaction, was nearly identical to the first wand's, but the candle on the counter burst open, sending wax scattered along the wood surface.

"No, defiantly not," Mr. Ollivander said as he swiftly took the wand back and put it into its box.

A few more tries of different wands with the same yet varied results and Mr. Ollivander went back for another round of wands. All different wood types, Draco came up to the counter now and looked at her astonished.

"I didn't even go through that many wands," he exclaimed.

"You seemed impatient anyways," Meadow teased him lightly.

After another five failures, Mr. Ollivander tapped his finger to his chin gently.

"I wonder. . . " He muttered and disappeared into the back once again, this time, no where in immediate sight.

"What do you think he means by that?" Meadow asked Draco nervously. She was getting a bit wand-shy from all the destructive attempts.

"No idea," Draco replied and leaned on the counter. "Maybe he's really stumped by you."

"I hope not," Meadow replied glumly, "Wouldn't it be awful if I don't get a wand?"

"Mr. Ollivander will find a wand for you, just have some patience," the boy replied gruffly.

As Draco said that the wandmaker made an appearance again, carrying a black box with a silver ribbon. Mr. Ollivander slipped the ribbon off and dusted off the box. He opened it up and the wand that laid in the wrapping was a jet-black in coloring; it almost looked as though there was only a curled silver wire in the box, the black was so deep and rich compared to the silver padding that surrounded the wand.

Meadow's breath caught as she looked at the wand. It had a very impressive appearance due to the darkness of the black wood. "Ten and a quarter inches, ebony, with a threstral hair," Mr. Ollivander said softly, as he too was holding his breath for this wand.

Chewing the inside of her cheek, Meadow continued to look at the wand, taking in the beauty of it before it would be taken away. As this one too, would clearly not be a match for Meadow, as none of the wands before had worked for her. The black handle was slightly thicker than the rest of the wand, a silver wire divot one-third of the way up the wand occurred, where the handle met with the rest of the wand. At the base of the handle there was more silver wire, which twisted up and through the divot before stopping an inch below the top of the wand. Along the whole wand were lines engraved around the wand, sometimes allowing the wire to settle in nicely in the groves.

Breathing in deep, Meadow picked up the wand, a tingling sensation spread through her fingertips and up her wrist, elbow and shoulder. The atmosphere of the room became warm and welcoming.

"Curious. . . " Mr. Ollivander muttered.

"What is?" Meadow asked, chewing her lip.

"The components of this wand: ebony wood chooses a witch or wizard who is very comfortable and has courage to be themselves," the wandmaker replied. "Great for transfiguration and dueling, ebony is. The length, ten and a quarter inches, the longer the wand the more the witch or wizard has a large personality- this makes perfect sense for an ebony wood. However. . . it is curious that a threstral tail hair was used. . . it is a rather unstable and difficult to work with during the process of making the wand. This was one of the only successful wands with a threstral hair I worked on. Do you know what a threstral is?"

Meadow shook her head.

"A threstral is a magical creature one can see only after witnessing death," Mr. Ollivander explained.

Meadow threw the wand back on the counter, "No, that's not right. I've never seen death before!" She backed up and tripped over her foot, sprawling on the floor.

Mr. Ollivander peered over the counter, sympathy etched over his worn face. "The wand chooses the wizard, Dear." He paused and came around to hold a hand out to her. "Now, now," He said as he helped her to her feet, "Given the reaction that wand gave off, it has taken a great liking to you already. I very seriously urge you to reconsider your decision—there is no greater relationship between a witch and her wand when they first unite."

Meadow considered this, still hesitate to touch the wand.

"Doe," Draco's voice said, seemingly distant in her brain, though he stood next to her. "Why don't you just see how the wand makes you feel. Instead of getting wrapped up into the elements of the wand."

Mr. Ollivander nodded in agreement, holding his hand out to offer the wand again. "The wand is only as strong as you are, embrace the core of your magic and nothing bad will happen," he said softly.

She took a deep breath in, remembering how her gymnastics coach taught her how to deal with her nerves. Meadow picked up the wand, caught between being courageous and nervous—the base of the wood hit her palm and a warm tingle spread through her hand, up her arm, into her chest, and spread throughout the rest of her body. Meadow took a deep breath in. It was her wand. "Okay," she said softly. "I'll take it."

-.-.-

Moments later she and Draco Malfoy walked out of the wand shop. Meadow's smile was back on her face as Draco kept a cool and collected exterior. Meadow steered them towards the north side of Diagon Alley, where Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions.

"So, your dad's still being too much?" Meadow asked cautiously.

Draco sighed, "I knew you'd be stuck on that."

"You know it's just because I'm worried, he may do something worse," Meadow shrugged. "Why don't you ever tell someone about it?"

"You know I can't," Draco hissed. "He's a powerful man, besides, disgracing the Malfoy name? We're one of the oldest families in the Wizarding World. And dragging our name down? It would just create more issues in the future. Especially to Mum."

Meadow held her hands up, "It was just a suggestion."

"What else do you need to pick up?" the blonde boy responded, firmly, shutting down the conversation of his family matters once more.

"My uniform," Meadow said and pointed at Madam Malkin's.

Draco's face scrunched up, "These uniforms will be the death of me. They're not flattering at all."

"Well, I heard we only have to wear all parts of it during important feasts: the Start-of-Term Feast, Halloween, and the End-of-Term Feast," Meadow replied. "But we still have to wear general uniform, at least, when we go to classes." She looked at the manikins in the window, dressed in different styles: two manikins were full body- one in a Hogwarts uniform of yellow and black, Hufflepuff's colors, another wearing a beautiful purple, silk robes, and one only half of a manikin- wearing a fancy hat, a scarf, and a nice white blouse.

"Yuck, I'd rather wear these every day," Draco responded, gesturing to his suit he had on. "My clothes look much more sophisticated than those things we're getting."

The two walked in and Meadow gave her friend a hard stare, hoping he'd shut up and not insult Madam Malkin and her workers.

"Hogwarts, you two?" A voice called and Meadow spotted a squat woman in a purple dress with purple heels and purple, cat-eyed framed glasses. Her round body and short, white hair reminded Meadow of her grandmother. Though, instead of green eyes, Madam Malkin had blue eyes.

"Just her, I got my robes already," Draco said stiffly.

Madam Malkin forced a smile, "Of course, Mr. Malfoy, I remember you were in here last week." She showed them to the back, and Draco took the lead, rolling his eyes.

"I take it your time was not pleasant here?" Meadow muttered to him.

"I met some boy who thought Hagrid was brilliant," Draco responded. "He didn't talk much, he said his parents were dead, so the gamekeeper took him here. He did say they were our sort though, so at least he has that going for him."

"Oh," Meadow said. "That was probably Harry Potter."

"How do you know?" Draco said.

"Dad was reading an article this morning saying that Harry Potter was here last week, escorted by Hagrid. You insulted Harry freaking Potter without even realizing it!" Meadow laughed.

"How do you know I insulted him?" Draco gasped.

"Please," Meadow rolled her eyes at the boy as she was placed up on a platform. "Draco, you insult everyone, either on purpose or not."

"I do not," He hissed. "I just have more class than others."

Meadow raised an eyebrow at him as the witch pinning her robes made her raise her arms. "That. That right there is what I'm talking about."

"Oi, shut it," Draco responded grumpily.

"Hmm…" Meadow replied as her friend sad down on one of the stools. "I thought your mum would have been here by now."

"She's probably caught up talking to some important people," Draco said stiffly and his grey eyes narrowed at her.

Meadow pursed her lips but didn't reply. It was evident that Draco was not in a good mood today, however, that was normal. Thankfully, it wasn't something Meadow had to often deal with, as their families would only visit a few times a year.

"You'll never guess who I saw today," Meadow said excitedly, changing the topic. It was obvious that her friend did not want to talk about either one of his parents today.

"Who?" Draco replied lazily, playing along.

"I saw— Oh," Meadow stopped, "Never mind. It doesn't matter." She was going to say Neville Longbottom, as Draco would cheer up at thinking about Neville cowering from his grandmother. But, she never told him about her mother, or St. Mungo's, or befriending Neville.

"Who were you going to say!" Draco demanded.

"No one. Just forget I said anything," Meadow replied.

"Stay still, please," Madam Malkin barked at Meadow, whom immediately felt her face rush with heat.

"I'm sorry, ma'am," She said and froze.

"Hm," Madam Malkin replied, slightly annoyed at the movement Meadow had been making. "So, Hogwarts, Dear. Are you excited?"

"Of course," Meadow grinned. "I'm excited to see what house I'll be in! My mother and father. . . they were in different houses. It'll be interesting to see where I belong."

"I'll be in Slytherin, of course," Draco pipped up, clearly excited to talk about Hogwarts as well. "Follow the family's footsteps, make them proud." His hands fingered his suit collar. "I think I'd leave if I were in any other house. Hufflepuff? Please, I'd rather die. I'll pass on Gryffindor as well, a bunch of arrogant pricks. I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad."

Although Draco didn't know it, he hurt Meadow a bit when he mentioned Hufflepuff. Her mother was a Hufflepuff, which was part of why she and her dad were so great together. Sadie had enough patience for a lifetime of Severus's mistakes. "I just want to be placed in a house I belong in," Meadow responded. "I don't care where my family was or wasn't. I just want to be sure the house I get sorted into is a place where I'll succeed."

"Boring!" Draco yawned.

"Oh shut it, Malfoy," Meadow teased. "You do things your way, I'll do things my way."

"Watch it now, Snape," Draco replied with a lazy smirk on his face, teasing her back. "If we're not in the same house, I'll make your life hell."

"Yeah, okay," Meadow drawled out sarcastically, rolling her onyx orbs. "I'd like to see you try. I'll kick your arse in potions any day."

"That's an unfair advantage!" Draco complained. Both knew that Meadow had picked up a great interest in potions since she was little, and her father may have allowed her to help with his potions.

"Alright, my dear, you're done," Madam Malkin spoke up with a hint of a smile in her voice, clearly amused by the two children friendly bickering to each other. "I'll met you at the register in just a moment," Madam Malkin said as she whisked off the material into a back room.

The two headed towards the front of the store, pausing to look at a few things displayed here and there. Once Meadow had paid and received her box of Hogwarts uniforms, she and Draco headed outside and towards Magical Menagerie, a pet shop. Meadow still hadn't heard from her father, and Draco's mother was nowhere to be seen either.

"My parents already bought me a golden eagle owl," Draco said smugly, and Meadow rolled her eyes.

"Not everything has to benefit you," she shot back. As the two grew closer to the store there were cages outside on display with a variety of animals. Only, Meadow was interested in the owls. An owl was the most practical and cute of the three pets allowed at Hogwarts.

"What's got your wand in a knot?" Draco asked, "You've been very. . . snarky today."

"I—it's nothing," Meadow responded, shaking her head. She wasn't about to tell Draco about her mother now. "Come on! Let's go look at all the owls!" She added, grabbing his hand and dragging him into the shop.

Much to her surprise, Magical Menagerie did not sell owls, as they did not want to compete with Eelops Owl Emporium, however, sold a number of other pets wizards and witches would add to their families. Still wanting to pass some time, Meadow and Draco wandered up and down the aisles of pets which included: poffle (or a puffskein, a ball of fur that had an abnormally long tongue), lacewing flies (something Meadow usually saw in her father's potions ingredients), nifflers (a burrowing creature that loved anything shiny), streelers (a giant, toxic, color-changing snail), ravens (sometimes seen carrying letters, but more often than not, a pet, and a very noisy one at that), and the usual rats, toads, and cats.

As the two passed by the cats, there was a certain fluff ball that caught Meadow's eye. A small kitten with large, pointed ears that looked as if they were dipped in black paint. The same black tip occurred on its tail as well, it was the most adorable thing Meadow had seen and her heart melted. Any thoughts of getting an owl went through the floo network and this kitten replaced it. The rest of the kitten was a splatter of gold, white, and light grey fur. Its eyes were a pale yellow that locked onto Meadow's onyx orbs and a sense of familiarity spread throughout Meadow's body.

She picked up the kitten, labeled "FEMALE. NINE WEEKS OLD. INQUIRE AT DESK FOR PRICE."

"I thought you weren't getting anything but an owl," Draco scoffed when he saw her holding the baby cat.

"Well, an owl did seem practical," Meadow replied as the kitten mewed at her and batted at her hair, which was pulled up into a ponytail. "Aw," she cooed. "I wonder how much she is."

"Doesn't say, shall we go ask?" Draco replied and picked up the small kennel.

The two walked up to the front desk, where it was crowded with other animals in cages and tanks. "Hm.. hello?" Meadow called out, as no one was around.

"Hello!" a voice rang out as he approached the counter. "What can I do for you two today?" The shop keeper laid eyes on Meadow and the kitten and his face twisted. "Put that thing _back_ in the cage, immediately. She's a very mean cat."

Meadow frowned at the wizard but put the kitten into the cage Draco was holding. "The sign said to inquire price here? How much is she?"

"Depends on who's asking," the shop keeper responded firmly. "Seeing it is two kids asking, I suggest you find another cat, one that isn't so difficult."

"Excuse me!" Meadow exclaimed, ready to respond scathingly.

"I might slip to my father that you were so rude to us today," Draco talked over her, as he took a step forward. "You do know who you're talking to? No? Well, my father is Lucius Malfoy." He paused and let his cold eyes settle on the shop keepers. "That rings a bell, now doesn't it? Now, my friend is asking how much you want for this kitten. So, I'll tell you what, we'll give you nine galleons for her, along with a years' worth of kitten food. Do you understand?"

The large man gulped and nodded. "Let me go get the best quality food I have in the back, alright?" His voice tried to be cheery, as he knew his mistake with messing with the wrong child, however, it just seemed thin with worry. "Be back in a flash." The shop keeper walked through a door to the left and Meadow rounded on Draco.

"You didn't have to do that you know," she scolded him.

He narrowed his eyes at her, "If I didn't you would have blown up at this man! Besides, this just made the arguing quicker—as much as I know you would have worn this man down to letting you take the kitten home with you, this just finished it before it started!"

"Just because you're right doesn't mean I'm any less mad at you!" Meadow pursed her lips together, neither smiling nor frowning at her friend; yet, she couldn't help but feel happy that she was able to keep the kitten and was getting the best quality food for her. "Oh," She thought suddenly and looked through her money bag. "I only have seven galleons. . . " she said sadly, looking at the kitten. "I guess I won't be able to get you." Meadow bit her lip as she felt tears form in her eyes. "And I would have given you the _best_ home."

A few moments later the shop keeper came back with the food and some treats and toys for Meadow. He saw her face, "I told you that cat was mean. Did it get you?"

"No," Meadow sniffed, "It's not that. I just realized I don't have enough money."

"We'll take it," Draco said firmly and pulled out his own money bag. "Happy Early Birthday, Doe," He added as he pulled out the nine galleons.

"You don't have to do that!" Meadow protested, however, the tears in her eyes were of happiness.

"Don't mention it," Draco replied as he set the coins on the counter. "Now, sir, if you could send those items to Severus Snape's house at Spinners End. You can see we have our hands full."

"Of course, Mr. Malfoy," the shop keeper responded and picked up his wand. "They will be waiting for you at the doorstep, Miss Snape."

"Thank you," Meadow replied in a small voice to the store keeper, whom was at least clearly smart enough to figure out that Meadow was Severus's daughter.

"Have a good birthday," he responded before the two walked out the door.

"Why didya do that for?" Draco asked, "He didn't deserve a thanks! Or nine galleons!"

"Oh, here, take these—" Meadow said and tried to push the seven galleons she had into his hands.

He shook his head, "No. I'm serious, that's for your birthday."

"I can't accept it!" Meadow exclaimed. "That's a lot of money! And I didn't do anything this nice for your birthday!"

"You do more than enough for me," Draco responded gruffly. "It's a present, accept it."

Meadow let out a breath in annoyance and rolled her black eyes. "Fine," she took a deep breath in, paused, and let it go. "Thank you," Meadow said quietly and she swore she felt Draco smirk.

"You're welcome," that same smirk melted into his voice. "Look, there's my mother. I've got to go. See you on the train?"

"Yeah, I'll see you then," Meadow responded and begrudgingly accepted the hug Draco gave her in farewell. Of course, the two knew if they didn't hug, Meadow would also be disappointed and salty. Instantly after Draco pulled away, the ring on Meadow's finger heated up. Her father was calling her.

It was time to meet him at Flourish and Blotts. Thankfully, Meadow did not have to travel very far carrying her new Hogwarts uniforms (in boxes), her new kitten (in a cage), and her new wand (also in a wand box) to get to the book shop. Waiting outside the door was her father, whom narrowed his eyes at the cage, and also took her boxes from Madam Malkin's, brandished his wand, and the boxes disappeared. Assuming, they were also sent back home to Spinner's End.

"What did I say about buying anything extra?" Severus hissed into Meadow's ear as the two walked into the book shop.

"I didn't buy her! Draco did for my birthday," Meadow responded, equally as under her breath as her father's voice.

"Let's hope that was okay by his father," Severus replied. Though, Meadow wasn't sure of if her father knew Lucius Malfoy was abusive or that his money went towards something he didn't approve. . .

Meadow gulped as they went through the number of shelves for first years. Once they gather all the books Meadow needed for classes, the two went together to pay. And again, Severus had the books disappear into thin air.

"Dad?" Meadow asked, her voice small as the two stepped out into the street. "Were you serious about visiting Mum again today?"

Severus frowned at her, "Of course. Mum wanted to talk to you."

"Alright, but what do we do about the kitten?" Meadow responded, her voice trembled with sadness.

"Do you not want to see your mother again?" He asked.

Meadow hesitated, "No, I do. It's just exhausting seeing her sometimes. . . I feel like everything I say will just set her on edge."

Her father knelt beside her and put both hands on her shoulders. "Meadow Lilium, never think that you upset Mum. She's not as fragile as you think; she's just been through a lot. She gets upset, not over you, but over the things she cannot control."

Meadow nodded, wishing that what her father would sooth the heartache from her mother's nightmares.

"Now, do you want to visit Mum? Or do you want to go home?" He asked her sternly.

"Can we drop off Bee and then go visit?" Meadow's lip quivered.

"Absolutely," Severus replied as he stood up.

He held out his hand and Meadow knew what it meant. They were going to disapparate again. Meadow took a deep breath in as she held her hand right above her fathers for a moment. She let her breath out and grabbed his hand. Immediately, Meadow felt her stomach turn as she was squeezed through a small tube.

-.-.-.

**End of chapter two! Dang! Let me know what you think of this chapter in the comments! I hope you all are loving Meadow's story as much as I am!**


	3. 3 Finally A New Chapter

**Chapter Three continues on the very same day as the first two chapters! However, we will also be moving on and forward! **

Miracle

_He held out his hand and Meadow knew what it meant. They were going to disapparate again. Meadow took a deep breath in as she held her hand right above her fathers for a moment. She let her breath out and grabbed his hand. Immediately, Meadow felt her stomach turn as she was squeezed through a small tube._

Chapter Three: Finally, A New Chapter

The two appeared on the back porch at Spinner's End with a loud crack. A very grumpy kitten hissing, and spitting met the two's ears as everything came back to focus. Severus looked at the kitten with a hard stare.

"Did you name that cat Bee?" He asked.

"Yes. . . "

"It fits," he said as he pulled out his house keys and unlocked the door. Since they lived around Muggles, they had to blend in as much as possible. This also meant that Severus had to learn how to drive a car- though, when he left for school, he would drive it to an abandoned area and apparate from there to Hogsmeade, the closest town to Hogwarts. "Grab some of these boxes and get them in the house—we'll have to sort through everything and make sure it fits in the trunk."

Meadow put Bee's kennel down inside the door and picked up the first bag of the kitten's years-worth of food supply. "Where do we even keep all of this?" She asked and gestured to the bags of food.

"It'll have to go in the basement, how much did Draco pay for all of this?" Severus responded not thrilled at the amount of food (three large bags—it was a bit much for only one kitten for a month).

"Nine galleons. . . " Meadow whispered, hoping her father wouldn't actually hear her.

"Nine galleons!" He exclaimed. "You cannot accept that, you need to pay him back."

"I tried! He said it was a birthday present," Meadow said as tears jumped to her eyes.

Severus looked at the bags of food, the kitten, and the toys. "He must have talked this owner down a lot of money," he was clearly impressed. "I will speak to his parents about this."

"No!" Meadow cried out. "His dad can't find out—Draco and his mother were only in Diagon Alley to get a wand for him that actually worked. His dad was going to force Draco into using his grandfather's wand-but that wand wasn't working for Draco. Or—I guess, Draco wasn't working for that wand." She spewed out.

Her father raised an eyebrow, "I will speak with his mother about this. And you best be ready to pay it back."

Meadow nodded solemnly and looked at the ground, not wanting to make eye contact with her father. She always had the sickly feeling that he could read her mind, it sounded completely insane, even for the wizarding world. Reading someone's mind took a lot of practice and skill; or the ability was apart of genetics. Meadow still believed her father could read minds, however, never had the courage to ask.

"Go put your cat in your bedroom for now. And take those bags to the basement. Your cat, your responsibilities," her dad said with a pointed look. "I will be in the potion ingredient storage closet."

Meadow gulped and did as she was told. The faster she got her cat out of her father's sight, the less he'd be mad about it.

-.-.-

About a half hour later Meadow found herself shifting from foot to foot outside the storage closet with her fist raised to knock. Anticipation and nerves trickling down her limbs as she tried to bring the courage to knock on the door. Meadow took a deep breath in as she pulled back her fist. She leaned forward as she exhaled, but at the last second her hand avoided the door and the air swished through her fingers. Meadow gulped and took in a deep breath, feeling the air fill her lungs completely as she mustered up as much courage as possible. It tended to be a sure sign that her father was angry if he was with the potion ingredients.

Just as Meadow had lifted her hand again the door swung open, revealing her dad standing tall with his black robes swishing around him. He looked at her from behind his hooked nose. With a pointed look he led her to the reading room to once again use the floo network.

As Meadow had before she took a handful of the powder and stepped into the cold, green flames. She uttered the words and her stomach dropped as she spun in the fireplace network. Upon arrival, her father cast a cleaning spell and the two headed upstairs to the reception area. Much to Meadow's surprise, Violet was still sitting at the front desk, looking just as glum as she had earlier that day. Without a word, she passed the "Visitor Sign-In" sheet to the two Snapes. In silence, they wrote on the clipboard, and passed it back to Violet, whom waved lazily as the two headed back towards the stairway and up to the fourth floor. The two entered the ward, headed directly towards Sadie's curtain room, and entered. Still without saying anything, Severus and Meadow sat in their respective chairs on either side of Sadie. Severus sat back in his chair, crossing his arms, and his eyes rolled up in his head.

Meadow took a deep breath, once again, searching for the courage deep inside her. She hesitated before quickly pushing through as she leaned forward and grabbed her mother's hand. A tug at her core occurred immediately, and Meadow closed her eyes.

She opened them to see a starry sky. Her mom smiling as she was tucked under Severus's shoulders. "Hi, Baby," Meadow's Mother said softly. "How was shopping today?"

"It was really fun! I got my wand today!" Meadow gushed as she rushed into her mother's arms. When she pulled away, Meadow stated, "Dad's mad at me."

Sadie gave her fiancé a side eye. "Oh?"

"Lucius Malfoy's son bought Meadow a cat for her birthday. The boy frightened the store keeper so much, for nine galleons Meadow received a year's worth of large bags of kitten food, two bowls, the cat, and a lot of toys," Severus said lowly.

"Meadow!" her mother gasped.

"Draco bought it for me!" Meadow protested. "I told him no, and he insisted!"

"Meadow," her mom sighed, exasperated, "You cannot accept gifts like that. You need to get permission from your father to own pets. They are live creatures, if you were to fall ill who would take care of it? Your father. It's a lot of responsibility. You have to care for it, feed it, water it, play with it, and love it."

Meadow shuffled on her feet, she never thought about what it meant to own a pet. The responsibility of owning a pet was not even on her mind as she saw Bee. "I'm sorry. . . I didn't think—"

"Clearly," her father sneered.

"Now, now, Sev," Sadie scolded softly. "Meadow has a good heart. She'll do just find taking after this cat."

The three sat down at wood, rustic benches that appeared. Sadie must have wanted to sit and chat. As Meadow sat down across from her parents, she watched at her father tuck a strand of hair behind her mom's ear. Meadow's heart tugged as she looked at them, if only the two were able to be physically with each other. . . maybe her father would be happier at home. "So what house do you want to be in?" her mother asked, drawing Meadow's attention back to the present.

A grin broke out onto the 10-year-old's face, her mum seemed much happier about Hogwarts. "I'm not sure! All of them seem great. I don't know if I'd make a very good Gryffindor though. I'm not very brave."

"They're arrogant," her father muttered.

"Severus!" her mother exclaimed. "Gryffindor is not a bad house. None of them are. However, Hufflepuff is definitely the best." She added with a small laugh and a wink.

"It is not," Meadow's father countered. "Slytherin allows for personal growth, understanding, and knowledge of the world outside of Hogwarts. It'll prepare her for the world."

"It'll prepare her for the world," Sadie mocked Severus in a light tone. The air around the three was warm, with a light breeze, reminding Meadow of a summer night with the crickets chirping and the birds singing.

A small smile played on Severus's face as he looked at Sadie. Meadow always saw the best in her father come out around her mother. There was no doubt in her mind that the two were perfect for each other. Total opposites, however, the balance of seriousness and humor.

"I think, as long as I'm placed where I'm supposed to go, I'll be happy," Meadow echoed herself from earlier that day, happily looking up at the clear, starry sky.

"Just like your mother, just wanting to fit in," Severus said and Sadie giggled.

"Oi! It's not a bad thing, my love," her mother replied, clearly ecstatic to have her fiancé and daughter with her.

"It's not always a good thing," Severus muttered.

Meadow got up from the bench and wandered off, leaving her parents to be alone for awhile. She was surprised to see her mother's universe to still be outside. However, instead of mountains, a forest, and water, it was a prairie. Large flowers and tall grasses surrounded her as she followed a path away from her parents. The vibrant stars lighting the pathway; soon Meadow found her mind wandering, excited for the upcoming week.

-.-.-

_Meadow found herself sitting on a stool. A swarm of students sat before her on four long tables, blurs of red, blue, yellow, and green. An angry buzz around the room before her eyes were covered with a brown leather. Paralyzed in her seat, the leather sat on top of her head, the angry buzz grew muffled. _

"_Meadow Snape," a voice hissed into her ear. "I wondered when I would be meeting you." _

_Meadow's lower lip trembled. She didn't understand what was going on. "Ooooh, nervous, are we?" The voice said. "Don't you worry, I'll put you where you deserve. Now let's see what I'm working with here. . . " the voice trailed off and Meadow felt something enter further into her mind. _

_She felt invaded. Completely vulnerable and stranded as she sat stiffly on the stood. "Oh no. . . Oh no, no, no. . . " Meadow heard whispered into her head. "This is not any good." _

_A loud cackle echoed around, and then laughter filled the hall she was in. Meadow heard the students laughing along with the hat on her head. "She does not belong here. SQUIB!" Something shouted from on top of her head. The brown leather was lifted from Meadow's sight and she looked up to lock eyes with her father. Whom looked extremely disappointed and ashamed. _

"_Get. Out." He said as he pointed to the door at the end of the hall. _

_Meadow's eyes widened as she looked at her father and then towards the door. Not the large door, a small, almost crawlspace door in the corner, where the swarm of red, blue, yellow, and green students had all crowded around. Laughing and chanting "SQUIB. SQUIB. SQUIB." All were pointing to that small, almost nonexistent door, waiting for Meadow to enter. _

"_Dad?" Meadow whispered, pleading with her father to save her. To help her. To protect her. _

"_You are no daughter of mine," Severus hissed at her and shoved her off the stood. Meadow tumbled and tripped down the two stairs. Echoes of laughter grew louder around her and tears flowed down her cheeks like streams of water rushing down a rock formation._

_Meadow picked herself up, her body heavy, her breathing grew rapid. The buzz of noise around her muffled as she felt herself take a step forward. Students were shoving her forward, spitting in her face, shouting SQUIB, ripping her Hogwarts robe off, her black tie off from around her neck, kicking her. Meadow felt dead inside. She didn't feel the tears. She didn't see anything but that small door, growing closer. _

_All too soon, she was in front of the opening. The muffled noise immediately stopped. A large silence set across the room. Only for the small door to creak open. Meadow peered through the door. A groaning suddenly broke out into the silence. _

_Unexpectedly, something shot out from beyond the door—_

-.-.-

Meadow woke up with a start. Sweating, crying, and breathing hard, she blinked the nightmare away from eyes and focused on her room. Bee mewed quietly from the end of Meadow's bed, as she padded softly closer to Meadow's outstretched hand.

"Thank Merlin it was just a dream," Meadow said to Bee.

The kitten yawned and stretched her head up to Meadow's fingers. Meadow shook her head and her blonde, messy curls slipped from shoulder to shoulder. Gnawing on her lower lip, Meadow sank into her pillows again. However, the scene that just played in her mind did not leave willingly. SQUIB being yelled at Meadow still echoed inside her head.

Giving up on the idea of sleep, Meadow got up and decided to pack her trunk for Hogwarts. Not that she hadn't already before, however, refolding all her school robes and uniforms, along with pajamas, clothing, and winter clothes, she repacked her schoolbooks, potions ingredients, dragonhide gloves, and other tools required. To be fair, the way she had packed previously made no sense in Meadow's current mind.

Instead of having her school robes first, Meadow packed her winter cloak, hat, scarf, and gloves. Next were pajamas and lounge clothes. On top of those were her schoolbooks and supplies. And finally, her school robes and uniform. The sun began to peak out from beyond the trees as Meadow shut the top of the trunk and locked it.

Today was the day. The day, Meadow goes to Hogwarts. August had come and gone far too quickly for Meadow's liking, however, this was a big year. September was upon them, and the ride to Hogwarts was today. A new chapter in her life was starting, today.

She looked around at her childhood room. The bed pushed against the far corner, fitted with green sheets, silver pillows, and a silver cover. Next to it a large window with a short bookcase filled with some books, but mostly odd trinkets she's gathered from pocketing. The opposite wall had another window with shelves on either side, packed with books on potions and ingredients. The fourth wall had her wardrobe, a light grey wood, that had her Muggle gymnastics awards and trophies all over it.

Meadow sighed and grabbed her truck. "Oh shite," she muttered to herself realizing that she didn't pack any of Bee's things. Meadow groaned in frustration.

"Meadow! Time to get up! Only an hour until we leave!" Her father's voice carried up from downstairs.

"Oh shite," Meadow repeated to herself as she had her wheels turning in her head of all the things she still had to do this morning. Hurriedly, she called "Coming!" and grabbed the trunk, unlocked it, and opened it back up. She threw a pillow from her bed into the trunk along with whatever cat toys that were scattered around the floor.

Snapping the trunk back together, she heaved it downstairs into the dim kitchen.

"Morning," Her father said as he lowered his cup of coffee.

"Good morning!" Meadow rushed out, breathing hard from lugging the trunk around. Her hair was wild, unwashed and untidy, she was still in her pajamas, and the lack of sleep from last night showed in undereye bags that were starting to grow a darker pink, almost purple in color. A small sweat broke across Meadow's skin as well.

"Everything alright?" Dad asked, raising an eyebrow, his dark eyes inquisitive.

"Everything's fine!" Meadow replied, "Ready for today! I've just got to pack up Bee's things." Her dad could tell she was flustered. He also could tell that Bee was not the full reason for his daughter being flustered.

"Pack a second bag and I'll bring it," Severus responded dully; Meadow knew he was not a morning person. "I can always pop back at the home if you forgot anything."

Meadow nodded and headed down to the basement to grab the open bag of cat food. Although, she wasn't sure how much she'd need it. Bee went hunting on her own outside, barely touching the cat food that sat out in Meadow's room. Running back upstairs with the cat food, she dropped off the bag, and darted back to her bedroom, grabbed Bee's bowls, and ran back downstairs.

She stopped and looked at the bowl of oatmeal on the breakfast bar, her father nodded, telling her that the food was hers. Meadow sat and shoveled her food into her mouth, barely tasting the brown sugar and cinnamon.

"Slow down," Severus gapped at her, "We have time before we leave for King's Cross."

"Idovhavtime!" Meadow replied, her mouth full and muffling any words she had tried to form. A small glob of oatmeal fell from her lips and fell on the concrete countertop.

"Meadow Lilium!" her father scolded her; his black orbs gazing down at Meadow in disappointment.

"'Orry," Meadow flushed with embarrassment, wiped up the spilt oatmeal and swallowed her mouthful. "I'm sorry," she repeated.

Her father narrowed his eyes at her again, "Go wash up and get your cat together."

Meadow nodded and did as she was told, after bringing her bowl to the sink and rinsing it out. During the shower her mind wandered back towards the nightmare that woke her up early. Though, she could hardly remember it now, hours later. The thought of her father saying, "_you're no daughter of mine_," echoed in her head as the water soaked her hair. Shaking her head, Meadow tried to chase away the idea that her dad would say that to her. Meadow knows that her father wouldn't think that, let alone say that to her. He loves her too much, in his own way.

Lost in her thoughts, she finished washing up and toweled off to dry. Meadow changed into Muggle clothes, a high necked, long-sleeved white shirt with a dark blue jean dress overtop that stopped just before her knees, calf-height white socks, and small, black, ankle-high booties. She looked at herself in the full-length mirror in the very white bathroom; her hair was still drenched, however, she looked freshened up and not as disorderly; however, the bags under her eyes were still apparent.

"Meadow! Come down!" Dad's voice called; the second time he's yelled up at her to come down to the kitchen.

"Coming!" She bellowed back and quickly dried her hair with another towel before throwing it up in a bun. Meadow looked at herself, and then promised herself to bring her hair down before they left for King's Cross.

Walking downstairs, yet again this morning, she heard her father talking to someone. As Meadow walked in she saw her father, putting on a nice face (which, let's be honest, her father is still scowling), talking with another man, whom sounded very familiar. Severus was dressed in medium-wash blue jeans, a black button-up shirt tucked into her pants, a dark brown leather belt showing around his waist, and black boat shoes on. Meadow was impressed with her father's Muggle style, nothing looked bad together, he reminded her of her primary school principal. She walked into the living room, which was slightly closed off, yet open due to the large archway that led from the staircase and kitchen into the front of the home.

"There she is," the other man said cheerfully, and Severus turned, revealing that the man was Remus Lupin. Remus was dressed in slightly shabbier clothes, light blue jeans with dirt and holes, his grey shirt hung off him very baggy, worn white trainers, and a purple baseball cap on his head.

"Remus!" Meadow said surprised. "Hello, how are you?"

"I am well, thank you, Meadow," Remus replied.

"Meadow!" A boy called, Shane. Her best friend from primary school. He also dressed his Muggle clothing, although, that wasn't abnormal, and Shane dressed in his usual khaki cargo shorts, a coral short-sleeve button up, and grey sneakers, which he didn't tie up. His shorts had a few holes in them and his shirt was wrinkled and missing a button on the front. It didn't matter to Meadow, Shane had a good heart and his head was in the right place.

"Shane?" Meadow replied, clearly confused on the interaction and why the Lupins come to visit the Snape household. "What's going on?"

A smile cracked onto Remus's face. "Shane wanted to come bid you a Happy Birthday and Goodbye, however, it seems like you two may be seeing each other more than either of you thought."

"WHAT?" Shane and Meadow questioned together.

Meadow's father rolled his eyes, "You two are either very smart, or very arrogant for not realizing what the other is."

"Now, now, Severus," Remus smiled with a light tone, "It's a good thing our two realize the importance of keeping the Wizarding world a secret from the Muggle world."

"You mean to tell me—" Meadow started.

"—that we're _both_ going to Hogwarts?" Shane finished.

"Yes." The two fathers responded.

Meadow shrieked in excitement and Shane's jaw dropped. "How long have you known?" He demanded, frowning at Remus.

Remus chuckled, "Since you two first met. You see, Meadow's father and I were in the same grade at Hogwarts as well."

"Were you two friends?" Meadow asked excitedly as she swung an arm around Shane's shoulders and pulled his check next to hers with a huge smile.

The two men exchanged a look between each other, her father's eyebrow raised, looking down his large, hook nose at Remus, whom had an amused look on his face. "Not exactly," Remus responded with a half-smile on his face.

"What were you then?" Meadow pushed, ignoring the warning sign from her father.

"Meadow," Dad said with a look that could strike someone dead if looks could kill. Thankfully, looks do not kill and Meadow is still very much alive.

She let go of Shane and put her hands up in defeat. "Just asking, I want to make sure Shane and I stay friends."

"I'm sure things will all work out," Remus responded.

The four still awkwardly standing around the front door, as Meadow felt a vibe that her father not only disliked Remus, but possibly hated him. "I have a birthday present for you!" Shane said, extra loud, also reading the tension in the room.

Meadow smiled at her awkward friend. "Thank you," she said automatically.

Shane handed her a small, colorful bag with a nervous smile. Meadow pulled out the white tissue paper and discovered two small tubes of nail polish, one black and one grey. "Aw! Thank you, Shane! You didn't have to do that!" She exclaimed and threw her arms around her friend.

"It's not a bother," Shane responded and hugged her back, but quickly let go. "I didn't think I'd see you again at school."

"I didn't either! Best birthday ever!" Meadow grinned back. "I wonder if we can go together now." She looked pleadingly at her father.

"We're actually about to head off now," Remus said. "Meadow's welcome to tag along with us. I'm sure it'll give you some extra time to get ready for the school year, Professor Snape." He said respectfully, looking over at the older Snape.

Dad looked at his watch on his wrist. "Meadow, if you have no objections. . . "

"None at all!" She cheered happily.

"Well, that's settled then," Dad responded, monotoned; though Meadow suspected that he was slightly hurt. To which, her stomach turned, and she looked down in guilt. "You do have a few presents from me and your Mum. . ." He glanced over at Remus, whom caught on.

"Shane, why don't we take Meadow's trunk to the car and wait for her out there," He stated nicely.

As Shane nodded, his brown, shaggy hair got into his face and hid his eyes. The two Lupins headed out the front door, Remus carrying Meadow's trunk without an issue and Shane carrying Bee in her travel kennel.

Once the front door closed, there was a silence that covered the two Snapes. It wasn't uncomfortable; however, it wasn't heartening either.

"Meadow Lilium," Her dad said quietly as he walked around the plush, white couch. She looked up with her eyes as her head was still turned down.

"Dad?" She inquired but was engulfed by her father's arms. It was different, her dad didn't have his usual robes on, as he was dressed in Muggle clothing for the ride to King's Cross and blending in to get to Platform 9 ¾.

"My flower," Severus said, letting her go and knelt in front of her. The nickname he used was one he hadn't said in a long time, tipping Meadow off that whatever was going on it was serious. "Your Mum and I talked a lot about this day when you were a baby. When you were born, there was a lot of chaos and uncertainty in the world. . . We have something for you now, and something for when you turn of age. I was hoping it was something we never had to give you. . ." he trailed off, yet Meadow stayed quiet as she let her father gather his thoughts. "Given the circumstances, Mum and I talked about it and decided you should receive this."

He pulled out a box that had been perfectly wrapped in a light grey paper with a large, black bow tied around it. The more Meadow looked at it, the more she realized the box had been wrapped a long time ago. The corners were worn, and a thin layer of dust looked as though it had just been brushed off. As Meadow opened it, the tape easily came off with a small "pop", but the top of the box came off with more difficulty. Inside the box was some white tissue paper that Meadow pushed away revealing an old leather-bond book. Guiltily, she was slightly upset it wasn't the book from their vault.

"It's one of the family books. Mostly, Mum's and my history, and our hopes for you," Dad said quietly. "Mum put something else in there for you."

"Thank you, Dad," Meadow said biting the inside of her lower lip. She gave him a hug and he pulled her close.

"Now, for something fun," Dad replied as he pulled away and summoned a bag.

Meadow let out a small giggle and tore the tissue paper out of the bag. Inside was a tan leather watch with a silver face, there was also a small lily flower charm, and a "_Potions Made Easy_" book. Meadow broke into a smile, "Thank you, Dad!"

"You're welcome, my flower," He replied. "Now go," his voice turning hard once again. "The Lupins are waiting for you, and I'll see you at school."

"Thank you," she smiled up at him, putting the watch on her wrist, which read seven-thirty, and the charm on her necklace which held a sister locket. The other replica of the locket is with her mother. Meadow looked down at the locket and flower charm with a light smile, happy with the two charms on her necklace linked to both of her parents.

"Happy belated Birthday," her father said, his voice surprisingly uneven.

"I love you, Dad," Meadow replied and rushed in for one last hug. Her father's arms wrapped around her again, making her feel safe. He gave her three short squeezes on her shoulder, which she knew to him saying "I love you too". The two Snapes pulled apart. Checking her thumb for the ring she always wore, Meadow felt the familiar metal under her fingertips, and then she tucked the family book and the potions book under her arm and headed out the door.

"Ready to go?" Shane called; he was leaning on the door of their beat-up, red, rusty pickup truck. Remus was sitting on the front of the truck, looking extremely disheveled and rundown, yet still full of life and happiness.

Meadow nodded and jumped off the front steps, a skip in her step despite the slightly heavy conversation she just had with her father. Remus slid off the hood of the car and Shane opened up the door for Meadow. The pickup truck was a bench with no back seats, however, there was an expansion charm on the vehicle. The three slid into the seats with room to spare, including Meadow's kitten and Shane's owl, Solo.

-.-.-

During the two hour ride, which expanded into almost three hours with a stop for the bathroom and snacks as well as the traffic that grew more the closer to the train station, the Lupins and single Snape chatted about the excitement of going to Hogwarts and the first train ride to the new school. Remus allowing for the two 11-year-olds imaginations run wild.

As King's Cross came into view, Meadow's stomach gained butterflies and she bumped shoulders with Shane, whom looked like he was about to vomit. He weakly smiled at Meadow; in return, she gave Shane a swift squeeze on his hand. Remus parked the pickup truck and turned off the engine with a hasty tap of his wand on the steering wheel. "Less than thirty minutes until the train leaves," Remus said to the children and opened his door, "Stay by the car, I'm going to grab a trolley."

He shut the door and jogged off into the crowd around the train station. Shane took a deep breath in and Meadow let out a breath she was holding in. "Are you ready for this?" She asked him softly, poking his upper arm.

Shane took in another deep breath, "I'm just glad you're going too. I don't know what I'd do on my own."

Meadow let out a light chuckle. Shane was never very great at making friends, even as a five-year-old, whom normally has no cares in the world. Shane, was always worried about cleaning up after everyone, avoiding drama, and overall just was a bit of a loner. Which attracted Meadow to him, he avoided confrontation, and overall, Meadow just felt like he needed a friend. Of course, Ms. Kashmire also talked to Meadow about being nice to everyone after Meadow complained to her about this "weird boy" in her grade. The conversation with Ms. Kashmire scolding her about being rude, and then turning it around and saying Meadow needs to get to know someone before passing judgement. As a five-year-old, that lesson really stuck. Especially once Meadow did befriend Shane, her own friends began to be mean to her; therefore, proving old Ms. Kashmire's point of truly knowing someone before befriending them or avoiding them. It may also be why Meadow was able to befriend Draco Malfoy as well; she knew him, the true him. Not just the Draco Malfoy that was put on as a show. It did help that their parents were friends, of course.

"You'd be just fine without me, you could replace me," Meadow teased as Shane opened the door.

He shook his head, looking more ill as the seconds go by. Though, Meadow felt the same way, relieved she'd know someone going to Hogwarts; she'd never admit it to Shane, or anyone, but she was glad that her best friend was able to go on this adventure with her. Meadow slid across the seat and got out of the truck. She pulled her jean dress down and pushed up her long sleeves. It was hot out, she stretched the high neck collar as the sun hit her; she regretted wearing the long-sleeved t-shirt.

Truck door closed, and tailgate opened, Shane pulled the trunks closer to the edge just as Remus came back with a trolley. The Lupins gathered the trunks up and Meadow went and grabbed Solo and Bee from the front. Bee, who was hissing in unhappiness from being stuck in the portable kennel, and Solo, content with looking around at all the people.

"Let's get cracking, kids," Remus said as the last trunk was settled into the trolley. Meadow immediately was drawn to all of the sights of London, looking around, cooing at the older buildings that stood tall and bright in the sunlight that poured onto them.

Thankfully, with the extra time, the three were able to take some moments to gasp and awe at interesting statues and sites. The closer to the Platform they got, the more people were around. And Meadow had no idea how they were going to LITERALLY disappear into a wall with a ton of Muggles wandering around. As much as Meadow wanted to ask Remus, she didn't in order to keep up the appearance of being a Muggle.

"We're here," Remus's voice drawn Meadow back to reality and noticed the signs of Platform 9 and Platform 10. "It'll all be okay, just act normal and walk into the wall; the Muggles won't notice at all," Remus said softer as he leaned down closer to the two.

Meadow glanced over at Shane; his face seemed to grow an even sicker, pale color and the butterflies in Meadow's stomach went wild. Her stomach was twisting and turning in nerves. Meadow bit her lower lip to try and calm herself down. She took a deep breath and walked in step with Remus, smiling as she looked around at the trains pulling in and leaving from King's Cross. She put on an act, hoping her true feelings weren't showing on her face.

The Platform between 9 and 10 grew closer; at the last second, Meadow shut her eyes tight only to open them again after hearing a blast of noise from people talking and a train blowing a short whistle. Shane let out a whoop of relief, causing Meadow to burst out into laughter.

"Whooo!" She cried out with him. Remus broke into a smile, although it seemed to be bittersweet for the eldest Lupin.

The three headed closer to the train and Meadow looked around at the magic platform. High ceilings with bright lights all along in rows upon rows, illuminating the longstanding, red brick pillars and white tiles across the floor. At the closer end of the platform, there was a brick wall with large poles where one end of The Hogwarts Express stopped. At the other end, there was a large brick tunnel, where the sunlight was so bright, it looked like a wall of white.

The Hogwarts Express stood tall in black with a red stripe down the middle and the Hogwarts Crest on the center of the front carts. The staff members of the train were dressed in grey suits with a grey and white engineer hat on, helping students get their trunks and pets onto the train and keeping parents and other nonstudents off the train. One older man with salt-and-pepper hair barely seen from under his cap smiled at the three.

"Off to Hogwarts this year?" He asked, his voice was soft, however heard above the noise of everyone else talking.

"Yes!" Meadow exclaimed and Shane nodded.

"Let me help you with your things," The staff member replied and grabbed the first trunk. He easily lifted it up into the train floor and grabbed the other trunk, doing the same as before.

"We'll be right back, Dad," Shane said to his father as Meadow climbed into the train and pulled one of the trunks into the closest compartment that was empty. Shane following her with the other trunk. Walking back out together, Meadow beamed around at the people on the Platform. There were families gathering together, the students smiling and laughing over the excitement of going back to school; parents smiling through tears, torn between happiness for their children and sadness over sending them away as well; and younger siblings crying with red faces and runny noses as they watch their older siblings leave them for the first time or for another year. Although bittersweet in some cases, Meadow saw the beauty in the Platform and its symbol of a new chapter of life.

Meadow very quickly locked eyes with Remus. "Thank you for letting me come with you!"

Remus's soft smile appeared at the corner of his lips and his eyes. "It was no trouble, Meadow. Have a good year at school. Tell your father to let me know if Shane has any issues this year."

She nodded not thinking anything of the comment and headed back into the compartment where Bee was sitting on the left bench, looking angered with her dipped black ears pointed back and tail swishing back and forth; her pale yellow eyes were narrowed with her nose twitching. Meadow wanted to give Shane some time to say goodbye to his father without her being there. Sometimes her best friend was more emotional than Meadow even wanted to handle; though, she had learned to work through his emotions with him.

Sitting down, looking out at all the families saying goodbye to one another, she saw a large family of redheads, the Weasley's, one of the oldest pureblood families lines, however, considered traitors by the other pureblood families for being Muggle Lovers, not that it mattered much to Meadow. She never cared to be involved in the politics of the pureblood history; just overheard the latest news of the wizarding world from Malfoy Manor. Though, the Weasley's looked extremely flustered and rushed. Meadow looked down at her new watch, ten-fifty-four. There wasn't much time left until the train left the station. A small, scrawny boy with messy, black hair emerged from behind the Weasleys and booked it straight to the train. She could have sworn that was Harry Potter.

The first warning whistle sounded, giving a five-minute notice before the train left. Startled, Meadow lost sight of the boy. Her eyes trailed around the Platform, watching most of the other families say goodbye. She saw Neville Longbottom give his grandmother and grandfather a hug goodbye, before he quickly boarded the train as his grandmother gave him a stern look. The Carrow twins bidding their Aunt and Uncle goodbye with a quick kiss on the check. The brother and sister looked after the twins when their oldest brother had been put into Azkaban after being caught by Aurors. Susan Bones, a dull, yet powerful witch due to her family connections at the Ministry of Magic, looked rather upset as she bid her family goodbye. Not far from her, Meadow spotting the Malfoys, where Narcissa was dotting over Draco, hugging him and crying, wiping her face, and recomposing herself and Lucius stood stone still with a grim expression upon his mouth.

The train gave out a small "toot" giving families their last warning as there was two minutes until departure. As the students rushed off onto the train, family members waving, staff ushering everyone to hurry up, Shane came back into the compartment.

"Blimey," He whispered, "We're actually going."

Meadow's face contorted as she tried to withhold a laugh, "We're going to Hogwarts."

"I can't believe it," Shane replied, patting down his brown hair so it hid his eyes. The two gazed out of the window together. "Dad's off," he pointed at Remus retreating further away.

"I'm sure he'll watch the train," Meadow responded, reassuring her friend. Just as the words came out of her mouth, Remus turned and looked at the train, waving in the general direction of the two. Shane sniffled and waved back.

A small knock on the door brought Meadow's full attention behind her. "Do you mind?" a boy asked. His clothes looked ten sizes too big, hanging off him loosely and dyed a nasty brown color. His eyes were stunningly emerald green that stood out immensely as his messy, black hair framed his face. Upon his nose, he wore large, round, thick black glasses. The two Weasley twins, dressed in blue jeans and grey jumpers, were gawking at the boy before a voice called up to them.

"Fred? George? Are you there?"

"Coming, Mom!" Their jaws replaced, and once last glance towards the black-haired boy, they headed back down the compartment.

"Not at all," Meadow finally replied after watching the twins, and moved Bee from the cushioned bench. She hissed in response, however, Meadow ignored her. "I'm Meadow," She said with a smile, hoping to make the boy feel welcome. "That's Shane."

The boy grinned, pushed his truck under the seat and held out his hand, "Harry."

Meadow shook his hand, not needing to know his last name at all, this was The-Boy-Who-Lived.

"Harry?" Shane perked up. "As in _THE_ Harry Potter?" The two boys shook hands as well.

Harry shifted uncomfortably. "I guess I am him."

"Don't bother him, Shane," Meadow scolded her friend lightly with a smile. "How often would you like people gaping at you?"

Shane turned pink, "S-so-sorry, mate. I just never thought I'd meet you."

"It's alright, I suppose it'll be a shock for most everyone," Harry responded nonchalantly, either not caring at all or very good at hiding his feelings. He peered out the window, looking at the family of Weasleys all rushed in saying their goodbyes.

"Ron, you've got something on your nose," Meadow heard Mrs. Weasley say harshly, she glanced over at the family and saw the mother grab the youngest boy and began rubbing the end of his nose.

"_Mom- geroff!"_ He said, wiggling free from his mother.

"Aaah, has ickle Ronnie got somefink on his nosie?" one of the twins said, and Meadow smirked. Those twins would be a fun lot to hang around. That is, if they even wanted to befriend a Snape. Meadow's heart sank. Given the reaction from her father and Remus, she presumed that her father was not a very well-liked man. However, that didn't stop Shane from befriending her.

"Shut up," Ron replied, scrunching up his nose.

"Where's Percy?" Mrs. Weasley asked the twins.

"He's coming now." One of them said as the oldest boy came striding into sight. He had already changed into his black Hogwarts robes, which were billowing behind him. There was a shiny silver badge stuck on his chest with the letter _P_ on it.

"Can't stay long, Mother," he said, smoothing down his collar. "I'm up front, the prefects have got two compartments to themselves—"

"Oh, are you a _prefect,_ Percy?" One of the twins said, with a look of great surprise. "You should have said something, we had no idea."

"Hang on," the other twin said. "I think I remember him saying something about it. Once—"

"Or twice—"

"A minute—"

"All summer—"

"Oh, shut up," Percy responded, rolling his brown eyes. Meadow let a small smile form upon her lips as she watched the family.

"How come Percy gets new robes, anyway?" one of the twins asked their mother.

Mrs. Weasley beamed, "Because he's a _prefect_." Her voice was full of warmth as she gazed upon the oldest boy. "All right, dear, well, have a good term—send me an owl when you get there." She kissed Percy on the cheek, and he left. She turned to the twins with a stern face, her brows pulled down and her mouth pursed.

"Now, you two—this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you've—you've blown up a toilet or—"

"Blow up a toilet? We've never blown up a toilet," one twin stated matter-of-factly.

"Great idea though, thanks, Mum," the other teased.

"It's _not funny._ And look after Ron." She told them.

Meadow smirked at the exchange. The twins were something very lighthearted, yet mischievous.

"Don't worry, ickle Ronniekins is safe with us," one smirked and caught Ron with one arm and rubbed his fist on Ron's head, messing up the youngest brother's hair.

"Oi! Geroff!" He complained, pushing the twin off, and patting his hair back down. He was almost as tall as the twins, and his nose was still pink from where Mrs. Weasley rubbed it earlier.

"Hey, Mum, guess what? Guess who we just met on the train?"

Harry quickly leaned away from the window and sat next to Meadow, so the Weasleys couldn't see him in the train.

"You know that black-haired boy who was near us in the station? Know who he is?"

"Who?"

"_Harry Potter!"_ the twins said together.

"Oh! Mum! Can I go on the train and see him, Mum, oh please. . . " The smallest of the Weasleys asked. Meadow assumed that was the youngest sibling.

"You've already seen him, Ginny," Mrs. Weasley scolded her daughter softly. "And the poor boy isn't something you google at in a zoo. Is he really, Fred? How do you know?"

Meadow glanced at Harry, though instead of looking uncomfortable, he looked rather curious about the conversation. "Asked him. Saw his scar. It's really there—like lightning."

"Poor _dear_—" Mrs. Weasley said again. "No wonder he was alone, I wondered. He was ever so polite when he asked how to get onto the platform."

"Never mind that, do you think he remembers what You-Know-Who looks like?" one of the twins asked, Meadow decided this twin was the bolder of the two, he seemed like he was more in charge.

Their mother suddenly became very stern. "I forbid you to ask him, Fred. No, don't you dare. As though he needs reminding of that on his first day at school," her voice was very hard.

"All right, keep your hair on." Fred replied.

The train whistled again, giving thirty-seconds for all the last-minute students to jump on before final take-off. "Hurry up!" Mrs. Weasley cried, giving all three boys kisses on the cheeks before ushering them up the stairs. Their younger sister began to cry and the three leaned out the window next to the door.

"Don't, Ginny, we'll send you loads of owls," Ron said.

"We'll send you a Hogwarts toilet seat!"

"_George!_"

"Only joking, Mum," George replied.

The train whistled, long and hard, before the breaks were released and the train started moving forward out of the platform. Shane jumped up at the lurch, swung open the window, and leaned out, waving to his father. Meadow grinned at Harry. "He's a bit of a wreck, it's his first time leaving his dad alone."

"His Mum not home?" Harry asked, curious.

Meadow shook her head, "The War." Which was an acceptable response, and one which Meadow and Shane knew to be true. Of course, Meadow had always been told Shane's Mum was in the Muggle Military; however, on the car ride, she figured it was from the Wizarding War with Voldemort. Except both were wrong. Shane's mother had died, just not in the way the two were told.

Harry nodded, obviously, knowing which War was meant. "You'll meet a lot of students who lost family members due to the war," Meadow responded quietly. "You might just not be told. . . it's not something many like to talk about." She thought of her own mother, lying at Saint Mungo's, in bed, with no ability to function as a normal person, just trapped. And then Neville's parents came to mind, also never leaving the hospital due to the state they were left in from the war.

He nodded again, "I understand that much." Meadow thought of Harry's parents, Lily and James Potter. Murdered in their home after being betrayed by their best friend and having two very young babies in the home. It was apparent that Harry would understand the repercussions of the war; his family was the one that was targeted.

Thankfully, the air grew light again as the three looked out the window, watching the youngest Weasley, half-laughing, half-crying running with the train. Shane was still waving to his father, whom waved back looking very proud. Other parents or guardians with younger siblings all waving at their students on the train. Either for the first time or another year, Platform Nine and Three Quarters truly had something special about it.

They rounded the corner and lost sight of all the people on the platform. Houses flashed past the window now, and Meadow felt a wave of relief and excitement roll though her veins. She was on her way to Hogwarts.

-.-.-

**End of chapter three! As always, leave me a comment below and I hope you are all loving Meadow's story as much as I am!**


	4. 4 Last Hours to Keep a Secret

**Shout out to my favorites and followers! Within 12 hours of me posting the first three chapters Meadow has gained some momentum! I am so happy about that, thank you for favoriting/following Meadow! I'm not sure if any of you read the OG story, but I'm sure it's a huge shock! This remodeled version has certainly shook me, I'm writing better (descriptive and grammar wise), I already have less plot holes (and hopefully will keep it to zero), and I am just happier to be writing.**

**Overall, I'm just happier with this version. Still the same Meadow (well sort of), same universe, just different backgrounds. I'll quit rambling now. ENJOY the next few chapters of Meadow's first year at Hogwarts. **

Miracle

_They rounded the corner and lost sight of all the people on the platform. Houses flashed past the window now, and Meadow felt a wave of relief and excitement roll though her veins. She was on her way to Hogwarts. _

Chapter Four: Last Hours to Keep a Secret

The door to the compartment slid open and the youngest red-headed boy came in. "Anyone sitting there?" he asked, pointing to the open seat next to Shane. "Everywhere else is full."

The three shook their heads, and the boy sat down. He glanced at Harry, and then out of the window, pretending to be interested in the houses flying by and that he hadn't looked at Harry's scar. It was slightly amusing to Meadow, however, that people continued to forget that Harry was indeed a person, despite being a celebrity in the wizarding world. Ron still had a black mark on his nose, which had finally returned from red to his pale skin tone.

"Hey, Ron." The twins opened the door. "Listen, we're going down the middle of the train—Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there."

"Right," Ron mumbled, paling in the face.

"Harry," said the other twin. "Did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley. And this is Ron, our brother."

Meadow assumed this twin was Fred, and the other was George, whom was looking right at her. He gave her a lazy smile and held out his hand, "I'm George, he's Fred." Making sure Meadow knew the difference between the twins.

A smile played on her lips as she took his hand, a warmth spread throughout her arm. "Meadow. And that's Shane," she nodded over to her childhood friend, whom had his brown shaggy hair covering his eyes again.

Shane offered a timid smile. "Hello," he said quietly.

George let go of Meadow's hand, "Right, we're off. If any of you are interested in seeing the giant tarantula, come find us."

"See you later!" Fred said, waving as the two disappeared down the corridor.

"Are you really Harry Potter?" Ron blurted out. Meadow, taken aback, had her eyes wide and Shane suddenly became very interested in watching the window.

Harry nodded.

"Oh—well, I thought it might be one of Fred and George's jokes," said Ron. Immediately, it made sense, the twins already were laid-back and easy going, teasing their mother and brothers at the station; this could have been very easily another trick. "And have you really got – you know. . ."

Ron pointed at Harry's forehead.

Harry pulled back his bangs to show the lightning scar. Ron stared, Shane stared, and Meadow found her own orbs glued to the scar.

"So that's where You-Know-Who-?" Shane asked, hesitantly.

Harry nodded, "Yes. But I can't remember it."

"Nothing?" Ron asked eagerly.

"Well—I remember a lot of green light, but nothing else," Harry responded, again nonchalantly.

Meadow couldn't quite make out if Harry really didn't care about being questioned or if he was just really good at hiding his emotions. However, Ron suddenly realized that he was asking questions his mother told him not to ask and became interested in the window again, along with Shane.

"Are all your families wizards?" Harry asked, curiosity laced his voice.

"I think so," Shane said, surprising Meadow that he spoke up. Shane's brown eyes were on Harry. "I don't know too much about my family. Mum's side was never really in the picture, and my Dad's side sent cards and that's about it."

Ron nodded, "I think so too. Mum's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him."

The three boys looked at Meadow. She shook her head. "Half-blood. My dad's split as well, and my mum was the first witch in her family."

"What does half-blood mean?" Harry asked.

"It means. . ." Meadow started, looking to the ceiling to compose her thoughts.

"It means that one parent is a witch or wizard, and the other is a Muggle," Ron said. "It's pretty frowned upon by the Ministry; but they make things work. Muggles must be sworn into secrecy. Or the magical one must give up all means of magic and keep their origins unknown to the Muggle." This wasn't necessarily true, but it wasn't incorrect either. The blood status in the wizarding world was confusing. Most families were still of Half-Blood status.

"I heard you went to live with Muggles," Shane said bluntly to Harry.

"Oooh, what are they like?" Ron asked.

Harry's face turned grim. "Horrible. Wish I'd grew up in a normal wizarding family. You all must know tons of magic."

Shane and Meadow shook their heads. "No siblings, not a lot of magic," the two echoed each other.

Ron groaned. "I'm the sixth out of seven. You could say I've got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left Hogwarts—Bill was head boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch. Now Percy's a prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny. Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first. You never get anything new, either, with five brothers. I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand, and Percy's old rat."

Ron reached inside his jacket and pulled out a fat gray rat, which was asleep. Meadow felt kind of bad for the boy, clearly, he had a lot to live up to and no reward at the end. . . especially being the youngest brother of five, but not the baby of the family. "His name's Scabbers and he's useless, he hardly ever wakes up. Percy got an owl from my dad for being made a prefect, but they couldn't aff—I mean, I got Scabbers instead."

Meadow's heart tugged a bit as Ron's ears went pink. He seemed to think he'd said too much, because he went back to staring out of the window. This boy was very loved for, his mother made sure to make a show out of that. It was just hard to see that sometimes there is no reward apart from things that were used by siblings before. Nothing of his own. Not that there was anything wrong with not being able to afford certain luxuries. Before Meadow was allowed to go to Hogwarts, when she was stuck at home with Ms. Kashmire, she was barely allowed to have any spending money, though, come to think of it. Her father never really let her have any money either. Though, he did pay for new clothes every year when she needed them. Meadow's stomach squirmed. She never thought of herself as different, however, she was given all new things rather than hammy downs.

"I don't even have any brothers and everything I have is used," Shane said. "Well, everything but my wand. But all my clothes and books and things came from that Secondhand Shop in Diagon Alley."

Ron nodded, "I know the one."

"I never had any money until a month ago," Harry added. "Everything was all my cousin's old clothes," he gestured to the clothes he was wearing now. "Too big, dyed ugly grey or brown, depending on my aunt's mood. I never got any birthday presents, really. The occasional tissue or pair of old socks. Once they gave me one of my cousin's old present he didn't use anymore, a toy car. Dudley pitched a fit and they took it away from me."

This seemed to cheer Ron up, that the other boys experienced similar upbringings; however, it made Meadow feel worse. Her stomach turned and tightened.

"I actually didn't know anything about the wizarding world until Hagrid came and got me from my aunt and uncle. I didn't know I was a wizard or about my parents or Voldemort—"

The three gasped and Shane flinched.

"What?" Harry asked, caught off guard by the others.

"_You said You-Know-Who's name!_" Ron exclaimed, both shocked and impressed. "I'd have though you, of all people—"

"I'm not trying to be _brave_ or anything, saying the same," Harry cut off Ron. "I just never knew you shouldn't. See what I mean? I've got loads to learn. . . I bet," he added, voice quivering slightly, "I bet I'm the worst in the class."

"I doubt it," Meadow replied. "There's loads of people who come from Muggle families and they learn quick enough."

Ron and Shane nodded in agreement. "You come from the Potters," Shane said, "There's loads of powerful witches and wizards in your family. Your mum was talented in school too. My dad was friends with them."

As the four had been chatting, the train carried them out of London, speeding past fields full of cows and sheep.

"Our parents were friends?" Harry asked Shane, in awe.

The other boy nodded, and he brushed his hair out of his eyes for the first time since they got to London. Shane was becoming more relaxed around the two boys. "My Dad's got a few pictures at home. I can owl for a few once we arrive."

"I'd love to see them," Harry said excitedly. "I never have seen them."

"You don't have any pictures of your parents at your relatives?" Meadow gaped.

Harry shook his head. "Well that's just ridiculous. Aren't those your mum's side?"

"My aunt is my mom's sister," Harry responded. "Though, they also told me my parents died in a car crash."

"That's a shame," Meadow frowned. "They really were awful then?"

Harry nodded. "They'd make me do all the cooking and cleaning. Weed the garden. Help Dudley with his homework. They had me live in a closet for a while, until I got my Hogwarts letters. Then they moved me to Dudley's second bedroom."

"You lived in a closet?" Ron exclaimed, shocked.

"It wasn't too bad," Harry responded with a shrug. "I bet Hogwarts will be loads different!"

"My brothers said its massive!" Ron replied. "Old, stone castle with tons of rooms! Though, they did say the sorting was terrifying. They said it was some sort of task." Meadow snorted and Ron turned pink. "That's what they said!"

"It was also one of their jokes they told you," Meadow replied.

"How do you know?" Ron demanded; his ears redder than Meadow even thought to be humanly possible.

Meadow grew quiet. She didn't entirely want others to know her father was a professor at Hogwarts. "How do you know?" Ron repeated.

"Her dad's a professor at Hogwarts," Shane replied, missing the dagger eyes Meadow threw at him.

"Oh really?" Ron asked, more curious now. "What one? I heard they're all pretty nice professors apart from a couple!"

"Anyway, the way you get sorted is through the Sorting Ceremony. The Headmaster's secondhand oversees it," Meadow said switching the topics.

"What do we get sorted into?" Harry asked.

"Different houses," Meadow replied, peeling her eyes away from Shane to meet Harry's emerald ones.

"Different houses?"

"There's four," Ron said, forgetting about Meadow's father. "All my brothers are in Gryffindor. There's also Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and. . . Slytherin," Ron made a face at the last house.

"What's the differences?" Harry asked, clearly eager to learn about Hogwarts more.

"Well, Gryffindors tend to be characterized by bravery and loyalty," Meadow responded. "Ravenclaw are more intelligent and creative. Hufflepuffs are hardworking and dedicated—"

"—And Slytherin is a bunch of gits. No witch nor wizard who gets sorted into that house ever comes out normal. All of 'em are dark and became followers of You-Know-Who," Ron interjected.

"That's not true!" Meadow exclaimed.

"It is true! Anyone who doesn't see that is as blind as a ghoul," Ron replied, frowning.

"What is Slytherin supposed to be?" Harry asked, indulging Meadow, "And what's a ghoul?"

Meadow rolled her eyes, "Slytherins are known as resourceful and cunning. There are more traits to each house, those are the ones that tend to really stand out though."

"A ghoul," Ron added, rolling his eyes as well, "Is a really annoying creature that is extremely dimwitted; though I guess they're not usually blind, they're eyes are just clouded over green. Can't really see in the light."

"Oh," Harry replied, feeling the tension in the room between Meadow and Ron. Though, he could already tell he liked the two very much already.

Meadow decided to let Bee out of her travel kennel. The kitten purred as she was let out and curled up on Meadow's lap. The group fell silent, though, it wasn't for very long.

Around half past twelve there was a great clattering outside in the corridor, and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their compartment door. "Anything off the cart, dears?" she asked sweetly.

Harry jumped to his feet, Ron's ears went pink and muttered something about sandwiches, Shane perked up and stretched, and Meadow shuffled Bee around in her arms as she got to her feet.

"Do you have Mars Bars?" Harry asked the lady.

"Oh no, dear," she replied with a sad smile. "We don't have those, but we have a lot of other candy and treats." She must have got that question a lot from Muggleborns.

Meadow watched as Harry asked for a few things of everything off the cart; his curiosity getting the best of him. He walked away, arms full, with one pack of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans and Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, multiple packs of Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, and Licorice Wands. Meadow was able to catch a glimpse of Sugar Quills, Candy Floss, Gilly Water, and Pumpkin Juice; but she was sure he had bought almost one of everything.

"I'll just take a Gilly Water, Pumpkin Juice, two Pumpkin Pasties, and one of the ham and cheese sandwiches," Meadow said to the woman, whom was dressed in a white and pink stripped uniform.

"One Sickle and two Knuts," the woman responded with a smile. Meadow handed over the money and received her lunch. Bee was perched on Meadow's shoulders mewing happily.

Meadow returned to her seat as Shane grabbed his own food and noticed that Harry's treats had taken over much of the seat.

"Hungry?" Meadow giggled at Harry.

"Sorry," he replied as he moved some of the candy closer to him. "I didn't eat breakfast this morning."

Meadow smiled, "It is an exciting day." She sat and opened the Pumpkin Juice. However, instead of smelling the sweet scent it normally gave off, she smelt corn beef. Meadow looked up to see that Ron had opened his lumpy package of four sandwiches.

"She always forgets I don't like corned beef," he said sadly.

Meadow's stomach rumbled, "Here, trade you—" she held up her sandwich of ham and cheese. "That smells delicious."

"Oh, it's fine—" Ron said quickly. "It's all dry. She hasn't got much time, you know, with five of us."

"Seriously, trade me. That smells so good, I want that." Meadow replied, shaking her sandwich at him.

Slowly, Ron handed over two of his corned beef sandwiches for exchange of Meadow's sandwich. "Thanks."

"Go on, have a pasty," Harry added. Whom seemed thrilled to be sharing, "You too Meadow and Shane. Take whatever you want."

Meadow assumed Harry had never had anyone to share anything with, by the sounds of his family. She bit into Mrs. Weasley's corned beef sandwich, and her mouth watered. It was delicious. It wasn't dry at all. And despite Ron's grumbles about it, Meadow couldn't think of a better sandwich, including all the ones Loralai made for her at Saint Mungo's. Happy with the sandwich, Meadow was also glad she got her gilly water and pumpkin juice.

The four got along extremely well, eating through most of the treats and chatting about the wizarding world.

"What are these?" Harry asked, holding up a pack of Chocolate Frogs. "They're not _really_ frogs, are they?" Though the tone of his voice was not surprised.

"No," Ron, Shane, and Meadow said together.

"But see what the card is. I'm missing Agrippa," Ron added.

"What?" Harry asked.

"Oh, of course, you wouldn't know—Chocolate Frogs have cards inside the, you know, to collect – famous witches and wizards. I've got about five hundred, but I haven't got Agrippa or Ptolemy," Ron replied.

"They're just chocolate bewitched to move like frogs," Meadow further explained. "Or, rather, the Croakoa makes the chocolate behave like frogs."

Shane nodded, "Really good chocolate, they've been adding more and more different types of chocolate into the packages though."

"What is Croakoa?" Harry asked.

"Just a magical ingredient to the chocolate," Meadow replied with a wave of her hand. "It's harmless, really."

Harry unwrapped his Chocolate Frog and picked up the card. The frog jumped to the glass on the window and began hopping around, however, Harry was too intrigued at the wizard card to care. "So_ this_ is Dumbledore!" he exclaimed and Meadow peered over his shoulder revealing the Headmaster.

She barely remembered him; though, his half-moon glasses, long crooked nose, and flowing silver hair, beard, and mustache were hard to forget. _Albus Dumbledore _was below his portrait in gold writing. Harry flipped the card over reading:

"_Albus Dumbledore: Currently Headmaster of Hogwarts._

"_Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling."_

Harry turned the car back over and Meadow noticed he disappeared from the frame. She shrugged and continued to nibble on her pumpkin pasty.

"He's gone!" Harry gawked.

"Well, you can't expect him to hang around all day," Shane said with a yawn; though Meadow noticed he looked sickly earlier today, he looked more tired now. "He'll be back."

"Ah no, I've got Morgana again. I've got about six of her. . . Harry, do you want it? You can start collecting." Ron said disappointed, though his eyes were fixed on the pile of Chocolate Frogs waiting to be unwrapped.

"In the Muggle world, people just stay put in photos," Harry said thoughtfully. "Help yourself," he added.

"Do they? What, they don't move at all?" Ron sounded amazed as he grabbed another Chocolate Frog. "_Weird._"

"Well, Muggles don't have magic, right?" Meadow said to Ron as he ripped open a new package. "In our world, it's the most natural thing to have the people move around in photos. . . but there's a special enchantment that allows that to happen after getting the photo developed; portraits and paintings, however," Meadow said looking at Harry, "Depends on the strength of magic the artist has and who the portrait is of. My Grandma has a portrait in my house, and she moves around and talks. . . though, come to think of it, she only really yells at me and my dad." She wrinkled her nose up, happy to be away from the horrible woman who barely raised her father. She was a skinny and unattractive woman, always cross and sullen looking. Her heavy eyebrows and pale, long face sent shivers down Meadow's spine every time she'd see her.

"That makes a load of sense," Harry said, regarding the pictures and portraits, locking eyes with Meadow. "I never really thought about it—look! He's back!" Dumbledore had appeared back into the Chocolate Frog card and gave Harry a small smile.

Meadow grabbed Morgana's card from the bench and turned it over, reading: _"Morgan le Fay- Middle Ages (precise dates unknown). Commonly known as Morgana, she is well known for being a powerful witch with the Dark Arts, Transfiguration and Healing skills. Once she ruled as Queen of the Island Avalon and Merlin's greatest enemy."_

Turning the card over again, Morgana decided to make an appearance. She had a stern face with a straight nose and pointed cheekbones. Her hair was long and auburn, contrasting brightly against her royal blue and purple robes.

"She's. . . intense," Harry said softly as he looked over Meadow's shoulder.

"Indeed. . ." Meadow replied and handed over the card. Harry and Meadow were having great fun in reading the cards together. She glanced up at Shane, he had his head leaning against the window with his eyes closed. His arms wrapped around himself and he had grabbed a small, worn blanket from his trunk.

Ron, however, tossed Harry another Chocolate Frog card, this time, it was Hengist of Woodcroft. A man also born in the Middle Ages, sorted into Hufflepuff, and founded Hogsmeade Village, where he resided in the One Broomstick (commonly known as the Three Broomsticks now) after fleeing prosecution from Muggles. However, unlike the stereotypical Hufflepuff one would think of, Hengist had a strong face with bright red hair and a thick mustache and sideburns.

"What's Hogsmeade Village?" Harry asked as he read the card.

"It's the only all-wizarding village in Britain," Meadow responded. "We won't get to go visit it until we're third years though," she sighed. She longed to go to Hogsmeade again, she only remembers a little bit of it from her last visit. It was years ago, she and her father visited the small village once, it was during Christmas time and it felt like she was in the inside of a snow globe. It was one of the only times Dad let her indulge in some sweets. Her favorite, of course, the pumpkin pasty. "It's a lovely place," she continued. "It'll be so exciting to go see it; you won't want to eat that day before we go."

"No?"

"No way," Meadow replied with a smirk, "There's so many shops and a real nice pub to eat at- The Three Broomsticks." She pointed to the card.

"That sounds amazing," Harry replied eagerly. "Here's the next one- _Alberic Grunnion, born 1803. An inventor, known famously for his creation of the Dungbomb. Though died in 1882, Alberic did not receive a Chocolate Frog Card until the early 1990s._ –what's a dungbomb?"

"It's like a sort of prank item," Ron spoke up, looking up from the handful of gummy candy he had. "Fred and George love them, they let off a massive stink. It'll clear a whole corridor."

Ironically, Alberic was immortalized in the card in his old age with his white hair, pale skin, and white lab coat. And a Dungbomb exploded on his lab coat and some on his narrow chin.

"Wow! Look at her!" Harry exclaimed, tearing Meadow's eyes away from Alberic.

She peered at the woman on the card, her tanned skin, almond-shaped, dark eyes, and flowing dark hair had this woman look like a Greek Goddess. _Circe._ It read. Of course, she was a minor Greek Goddess, though apparently, she was a witch. _'Circe was highly gifted in transfiguration. She resided at Circe's Island in Greece, where she would pray on lost sailors and turn them into animals. Her most well-known victim was Odysseus, and his crew, turning them all into pigs. Though she may used her magical abilities on Muggles, she is one of the first documented witches in literacy.'_

"She's so pretty," Meadow replied, awing at the woman's beauty and Harry nodded.

"Check this one out," Ron said and handed them another card. "Parseltongue. Scary stuff right there."

_Phillipus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim. 1493-1541. Commonly known as Paracelsus. On his work in alchemy, he made significant contributions to the field of medicine, being a notable physician. Paracelsus's bold theories challenged medieval though, and he discovered Parseltongue._

His portrait was empty. "What's Parseltongue?" Harry asked, "And why is it scary stuff?"

"Parseltongue is a language that snakes speak," Meadow said.

"It's a language that You-Know-Who speaks," Ron added. "Dark wizards talk to snakes. That's why Slytherins are dark. They're house animal is a snake."

"Actually, the house is represented by a snake because Salarzar Slytherin, one of the founders-" she added looking at Harry "—is thought to be a paraselmouth."

"Salarzar Slytherin also wanted to kill all Muggleborns," Ron retorted. "Therefore, dark wizards go into Slytherin."

"Not this again," Meadow rolled her eyes.

"What? I can't believe you've never been warned about staying out of Slytherin!" Ron exclaimed, his mouth full with the ham and cheese sandwich Meadow traded him.

"My mother was open-minded," she shrugged, she bit her lip. It was fine to pretend her mom was normal, right? It's not like anyone knew that her mother was imprisoned in her own mind laying in Saint Mungo's. Well. . . everyone except her father and the Longbottoms. Hopefully Neville wouldn't say anything about her mum to anyone, like she wouldn't say anything to anyone about his parents.

"I bet she was a Slytherin then," Ron replied, smugly.

Meadow shook her head, "Actually no, she was a Hufflepuff."

"Better Hufflepuff than Slytherin," Ron said looking at Harry.

Meadow just shook her head; she was tired of arguing with Ron about Slytherin. Of course, she knew its reputation. Of course, she knew the dangers of becoming a Slytherin. Her dad warned her about who to becomes friends with and who to stay away from, if, perhaps she became a Slytherin.

"Whoa! Merlin was actually real?" Harry said excitedly as he held up the old wizard. His pale skin was barely shown behind his large grey beard and mustache combo, his grey eyebrows were bushy upon his face. He had on royal purple robes with a matching hat with stars stitched into it. Dumbledore actually looked very similar.

"Of course Merlin was real!" Ron exclaimed, bewildered at the idea that Merlin didn't exist.

"'_Medieval, dates unknown. Most famous wizard of all times. Sometimes known as the Prince of Enchanters. After graduating from Hogwarts (Slytherin), he became part of the Court of King Arthur and served the King during his reign. The greatest enemy of King Arthur's half-sister, Morgan le Fay.'_" Meadow said Merlin's card out loud. "Merlin was real," she echoed Ron, more softly. "In the wizarding world, those witches and wizards who achieved a great deed at personal risk or contributed to better the wizarding world, are given an Order of Merlin award."

"See, all of this stuff is so new to me," Harry repeated in awe and his eyes landed on the box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.

"You want to be careful with those," Ron warned Harry, his cheek full of some sort of candy so his voice was slightly muffled. "When they say every flavor, they _mean_ every flavor—you know, you get all the ordinary ones like chocolate and peppermint and marmalade, but then you can get spinach and liver and tripe. George reckons he had a booger-flavored one once." He picked up a green bean, looked at it carefully, and bit into it. "Bleaargh—" Ron made a face and coughed slightly, "see? Sprouts."

The three laughed and had a grand time trying the different beans. As curious as Harry was with all the treats, Meadow was as well. Considering her father never allowed for too many sweets for Meadow in general, and even less likely to buy wizarding treats due to her connections within the Muggle world. She enjoyed herself along with the two boys, trying the different flavor jellybeans. She got peach, bacon, dog food, blueberry, chili, sour apple, pumpkin puree, and sourdough. She nearly threw up on the dog food flavor, it was the worst thing she ever tasted. Of course, it didn't help that she was expecting chocolate pudding.

Somehow, throughout the giggles and shrieks from the three, Shane remained asleep. Harry noticed Meadow looking at her friend.

"Is he okay?" Harry asked her.

"I think so, he didn't feel very good this morning," Meadow responded, her eyes still on Shane. His mouth was slightly open and as he let out a breath, his long hair blew up off his forehead before returning onto his face as he took a breath in.

"Probably just nerves," Ron replied, though his face was scrunched up.

Meadow nodded, quietly adding "He's not too good with stress. . ." As soon as she said it, guilt ripped into her stomach. Shane was her closest friend, he'd been there for her though everything; it felt like a betrayal to expose his anxiety.

She took her black orbs off Shane and to the window, the countryside that had once been flying by turned into woods. The trees grew thicker before vastly becoming a blur of one large tree. Rivers were seen breaking up the trees and large hills rose from the flat land before.

A knock on the door of the compartment brought the attention of the three preteens off the window. None other than Neville Longbottom stood in the doorway, his round face flushed pink and a small dribble of sweat glistened on his forehead.

"Sorry," he said, "but have you seen a toad at all?"

The boys shook their heads and Neville looked desperately to Meadow. "I'm sorry, Neville. . ." she also shook her head.

"I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!" Neville cried, tears leaked from his hazel eyes.

"He'll turn up," Harry said.

Neville sniffled and nodded.

"Do you need help looking for him?" Meadow asked delicately. She knew how much Trevor meant to Neville; the toad was once his father's singing partner. Though, Trevor was forced into retirement after the incident and turned into a pet for Neville, whom barely shown any sort of magical ability. Neville's grandparents were far too worried about Neville showing his magic than concentrating on things their grandson liked to do. Neville once shared to Meadow that he liked to sing, he wanted to make his father proud. She told him that he did, does, and will.

"No," he sniffled again. "It's okay, there's another girl helping me. . . Well. . . if you see him. . ."

Meadow nodded.

"Don't know why he's so bothered," Ron said. "If I'd brought a toad I'd lose it as quick as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can't talk."

Meadow frowned at the comment, clearly, being one of seven children meant somewhere Ron's manners were left unattended to. Either that, or now that Ron isn't surrounded by his family, he can have a voice and opinion without filtering. She looked at him, "How can you be so rude? That toad is probably passed down from someone in his family." Meadow said, carefully avoiding that Trevor was passed down from his father, and looked at Scabbers, "Just like your rat."

It was still snoozing on Ron's lap.

"He might have died and you wouldn't know the difference," Ron replied, shrugging off Meadow's passive aggressive stab. "I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn't work. I'll show you, look. . ."

He rummaged around in his trunk and pulled out a very battered-looking wand. It was chipped in places and something white was glinting at the end. The Weasleys were really as poor as the rumors said; quickly Meadow scolded herself, it was unfair to always believe gossip, and judge people upon it. If she had still judged Shane after Ms. Kashmire had given her a talking to, she would have never gained a best friend—a true friend. Shane had proven himself as a true friend over and over—

"Unicorn hair's nearly poking out. Anyway—"

Ron cleared his throat and raised his wand. Just as he did that the compartment door slid open again. Neville came back, but this time he had a girl with him-the one he mentioned before, Meadow assumed. She was dressed in her new Hogwarts robes.

"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she said in an imperious tone. Her bushy brown hair looked like a lion's mane around her head. Though, her hair was not the only thing large about her, her front teeth were large and bucktooth.

"We've already told him we haven't seen it," Ron said, but the girl wasn't listening, she was looking at Ron's wand.

"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then." She sat down between Harry and Meadow, pushing the wrappers of candy out of the way as she did so. Ron looked taken aback as she did so. Meadow would have gloated to see the redhead get shut down for once if this girl hadn't been so frustrating.

"Er—all right," he cleared his throat again and raised his wand. _"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."_

He waved his wand, and a small yellow light illuminated around the rat. However, once the light dimmed, Scabbers was still grey and fast asleep.

"Are you sure that's a real spell?" said the girl. "Well it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magical at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard—I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough—I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?"

Meadow's eyebrows raised up as this girl continued to talk. She didn't think Hermione took a breath at all during her little speech. She looked at the boys, thankfully, also noticing their bewildered faces. Including Shane, whom looked as though he woke up into a nightmare.

"I'm Ron Weasley," Ron muttered, and somehow Meadow found herself liking the boy better than this new girl.

"Shane Lupin," Shane said with a yawn, confusion splattered across his face like his freckles.

Hermione looked at Meadow expectedly. "Meadow," she said, firmly, not offering her last name up just yet.

"Hm?" Hermione cleared her throat and blinked, taken back by the tone of voice she was met with.

"My. Name. Is. MEH-Doe." She responded slowly, tilting her head to the left slightly and showing a forced smile on her face.

"Oh-kay," Hermione responded and rolled her brown eyes. She turned to Harry and Meadow assumed she also blinked her eyes at him, expecting an answer.

"Harry Potter," he said quietly.

"Are you really?" Hermione said eagerly. "I know all about you, of course—I got a few extra books for background reading, and you're in _Modern Magical History _and _The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts_ and _Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century."_

"Am I?" Harry questioned; his voice small.

"Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it were me. I didn't know why you were famous until I read _The Dark Arts Outsmarted_," Hermione said; and in the same breath switched topics, "Do either of you know what house you'll be in? I've been asking around, and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad. . . Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You four had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon."

She stood, brushing her hair off her shoulders and behind her. With one last glance at Neville, Meadow gave him a look that he hoped he understood as pleading him to keep her last name a secret. At least, for now. His hazel eyes locked onto her black ones, he inclined his head, in acknowledgment that he understood what she was asking of him.

Meadow watched her go, doing everything in her power to stop from gaping at the girl. She glanced around at Ron and Shane, both of whom were gawking at the spot this Hermione Granger disappeared.

"Whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not in it," Ron said, for once, Meadow agreed with the boy. She did not want to be anywhere near that know-it-all; trying to imagine dealing with Hermione Granger every day and never being able to escape her. . . she shuddered in the thought.

Ron threw his wand back into his trunk. "Stupid spell—George gave it to me, bet he knew it was a dud." Meadow let out a small chuckle, and Ron looked at her. "What?"

"Come on, Ron," Meadow said though a grin. "If your brothers are as much pranksters as you've said, no wonder they gave you a dud spell."

Ron cracked a sloppy smile as well and let out a breath. "Yeah, I suppose so."

Harry and Shane let out a laugh as well. "What house are your brothers in?" Harry asked once the laughter died down.

"Gryffindor," Ron replied. Gloom settled back into Ron's voice and his face changed. "Mum and Dad were in it, too. I don't know what they'll say if I'm not. I don't suppose Ravenclaw _would_ be too bad, but imagine if they put me in Slytherin."

"I know how that goes," Shane spoke up, surprising Meadow. "Family tradition. Most families, pureblood, old-line families," he said looking at Harry, "tend to have the same pattern between generations. And then, once it becomes established, like the Weasley's, basically, anyone in that family all get put into the same house."

"Due to. . . same genetics?" Harry asked.

"Sometimes," Shane responded. "I know my father was in Gryffindor, with your parents—"

"Yeah, they were friends," Harry grinned. "You said earlier."

"—Right," Shane replied. "And my mother was too. I don't know who she was, or if she was friends with them. . ." He trailed off, unsure of how to end. "They had another friend too, Sirius Black, I dunno what happened to him, but he broke his family tradition. Black was supposed to be in Slytherin, you know. Black used to be a household name in the wizarding world." Ron nodded his head. "But then. . . the woman of the Black family all married off and became other names, and Sirius, well, all I know is that he became a Gryffindor, exiled from his family, became friends with James and my dad—"

"How do you know this?" Meadow asked Shane, shocked at the knowledge he knew of the wizarding world, after all, they were best friends in the Muggle world.

"Dad keeps journals. Dating all the way back to his first year of Hogwarts, 1971," Shane smirked. _A journal. . . _the thought prickled at Meadow's neck. She should keep a journal for all of the things she wants to ask her mum when she's able to visit her. It would be helpful since the relationship with her father would be strained this year. Both would be trying to figure out how to form a professor-student relationship over a father-daughter one.

"He never notices when their gone. I've only read to his second year. But I nicked them all before we left the house this morning." Quickly, he rummaged through his truck and pulled out a couple of them, however, there were more in his truck. The old, leather bound journals had some wear and tear on them.

"No freaking way!" Meadow squealed as she got down on her knees and looked at the books. "I wonder if there's anything in there about my dad, they did say they weren't exactly friends."

Shane snapped the journal he had opened shut. "No, there's nothing about him. I already checked."

Meadow flinched back. "That wasn't very convincing."

"It's just nothing good," Shane replied, blinking very fast. He looked at Ron, "What do your oldest brothers do now that they're out of Hogwarts?" Looks like Meadow wasn't the only one keeping secrets.

"Well. . ." Ron started looking between the two of them. Clearly trying to put some puzzle together that he didn't have all the pieces to. "Charlie's in Romania studying dragons, and Bill's in Africa doing something for Gringotts. Did you hear about Gringotts? It's been all over the _Daily Prophet,_ but I don't suppose you get that with the Muggles—" he said looking at Harry, "—someone tried to rob a high security vault."

"You're kidding!" Meadow exclaimed, "How did I miss that?"

Shane looked at Meadow, "Even _I _didn't miss that."

"Never mind, what happened to them?" Harry said eagerly.

"Nothing, that's why it's such big news. They haven't been caught. My dad says it must've been a powerful Dark wizard to get 'round Gringotts, but they don't think they took anything, that's what's odd," Ron responded.

"'Course, everyone gets scared when something like this happens in case You-Know-Who's behind it," Shane added, and Ron nodded in agreement.

Meadow's skin shivered at the mention of You-Know-Who, of course, her father and mother always told her not to fear him, as she was protected. How she was protected, she wasn't sure, yet. Her mother hinted at something once, a long time ago, however she got too upset to finish the heart-to-heart with Meadow.

"What's your Quidditch team?" Ron asked, obviously forgetting that Harry didn't grow up in the wizarding world.

"Er—I don't know any," Harry confessed, looking down.

"What!" Ron looked dumbfounded and Meadow rolled her eyes, even Shane was shaking his head at the ignorance Ron had. "Oh, you wait, it's the best game in the world!"

The boys went off about Quidditch, explaining the four balls, the seven players, the famous games they've attended and the broomstick models. Meadow rolled her eyes and watched out the window, Hermione Granger had been right, however, they were getting close to Hogwarts. Just as the two boys were getting into the finer details of the game with Harry, the compartment door slid open again. Meadow didn't even bother to look over, she didn't want to talk to the bushy-haired girl again.

"Is it true?" an all too familiar voice said. "They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?"

Meadow slowly pealed her eyes away from the land she was gazing at behind the glass pane. Draco Malfoy stood, in his new, shiny, fitted Hogwarts uniform, staring at Harry with the most interest she'd seen on his face in ages. On either side of him were the Double Dummies- aka, the DDs, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, standing taller than Draco and twice as thick as him. The way the three stood was to intimidate others, thick as thieves with one brain and three bodies, Meadow couldn't help but roll her eyes again. She always told Draco to drop the DDs. Crabbe and Goyle couldn't be more thicker than a potion gone wrong that turned into slime. Of course, that's what Draco liked about them; they didn't have brains and relied on others telling them what to do.

"Yes," Harry responded, eyeing up the two knuckleheads.

"Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle," Draco said smirking as he noticed Harry looking at the DDs. He held out a hand, "And my name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."

Harry stared at Draco's hand as Ron gave a cough, though it didn't hide his snicker very well. Meadow tried to hold back a smirk, though, this time she agreed with Ron. Draco's appearance was nothing more than a fake show he put on for his future housemates.

Draco rounded on Ron, "Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. My father told me all about the Weasleys. Red hair, freckles, hammy down clothes, and more children than they can afford." He scoffed and turned back to Harry. "You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."

The white-haired boy glanced around at the compartment for the first time, noticing Shane, whom was trying to make himself as small as possible, and then. . . locking eyes with Meadow.

"Ah," he said in shock. "Two out of three misses isn't awful. Looks like you're getting close to the right person." Draco acknowledged Meadow. In return, Meadow glowered at him.

However, Harry wasn't looking at Meadow, he was staring down Draco. "I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks," his voice was cool.

A small pale pink appeared on Draco's cheeks, the most color they had probably seen in a while. "I'd be careful if I were you, Potter," he said slowly. "Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them, either." Draco's lip curled up and narrowed his grey eyes, "You hang around with riffraff like the Weasleys, that Hagrid, and whatever scum he came from, and it'll rub off on you." He gestured to Shane, whom Meadow found to actually be quite presentable despite the few holes and one missing button.

Harry and Ron stood up fiercely as Shane sat as still as a statue with his eyes wide. "Say that again," Ron spit out, his face as red as his ginger hair.

"Oh, you're going to fight us, are you?" Draco sneered.

"That's enough," Meadow said quietly, and the boys spun and looked at her as she stood up and soothed down her jean dress. "Nobody is fighting anyone. Leave it up to the house points, Merlin's beard knows you will be on opposite houses."

"Better listen to her, boys," Draco smirked, arrogance lacing his voice. "We're not here to fight. We're here to make friends." He looked at Harry again, whose eyes were narrowed at the other boy.

"I highly doubt that, Draco," Meadow responded coolly. "As not only did you insult Ron and Shane, but also Hagrid and Harry himself. I suggest you'd leave." Her eyes flashed dangerously at him.

Draco scoffed. "Come on, Crabbe, Goyle. I'm losing brain cells standing in this room. I might turn into Longbottom." He forced a laugh and the two DDs started chortling as well. The three disappeared from view.

"You've met Malfoy before?" Ron asked, looking at Harry and Meadow.

"Yeah, in Diagon Alley. He was a prick then too," Harry responded.

"Yes," Meadow answered as they looked to her, not offering up any sort of explanation. Just wait until Ron finds out she grew up with him. She'd rather not start another argument with him again. Of course, in just a short hour, her identity will be revealed, and no matter what house she gets sorted into, Ron will still never trust her. She already knew the youngest Weasley son wouldn't be able to separate her father and her.

Meadow rolled her eyes and dug through her trunk for her school robes. As soon as she found them, Hermione Granger showed up in the doorway. "What _has_ been going on?" She said shrilly looking between Ron's red face, Harry's angry eyes, Shane's small figure, and Meadow's stony posture.

"I've only heard of his family," Ron replied, ignoring Hermione and thankfully not catching on that Meadow knew more than just had one encounter with Draco. "They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they'd been bewitched. My dad doesn't believe it. He says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side." He looked at Hermione. "Can we _help_ you with something?" Ron frowned and turned his ear closer to her, in attempt to have an answer of why she stuck her nose into the compartment, yet again.

"You'd better hurry up and put your robes on, I've just been up to the front to ask the conductor, and he says we're nearly there. You haven't been fighting, have you? You'll be in trouble before we even get there!"

"Don't get your knickers in a knot, Granger," Meadow replied firmly. "We haven't been fighting. And you can't even get into trouble during the train ride."

"Actually, you can get into trouble on the train ride," Hermione replied in that voice that made Meadow's eyes want to roll up into her head. "I read about it, in _Hogwarts, A History_."

"Not everything you learn is from books," Meadow snapped at her. "You'd have to pull something extreme to get in trouble before the start of term even begins. Now if you don't mind, I need to find the toilet to change and the boys need some privacy."

"Oh, all right," Hermione said, her voice disappointed, as if she enjoyed shoving her knowledge down other's throats. "I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors." She looked at Ron, "You've got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you know?" She turned on her heel and the door slid shut.

"What a bother," Meadow muttered crossly to herself as she readjusted her Hogwarts uniform in her arms. She walked out into the corridor and turned to the left. Well, Hermione was right about the other students running up and down the corridors. As annoying as it was, she was able to get into the toilet right away to change from her Muggle clothes.

Quickly looking at herself in the mirror, she noticed her black eyes looked sharp and hard. Though when she forced a smile, her eyes relaxed more. Meadow took a deep breath in. "_Relax,"_ She thought to herself. "_Just relax."_ It was quite a habit to have as an eleven-year-old; deep breathing for any sort of over-emotion is a fantastic skill to have. Of course, she had to learn to deal with the stress in her life in an effective way, and Ms. Kashmire did teach Meadow that the breathing trick her gymnastics coach taught her can be utilized in more than just one way.

"We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately," a voice echoed around the train.

Meadow let her breath out that she didn't realize she was holding still. She washed her hands and splashed a little water onto her face, drying off, she took one last look at herself. She looked presentable, she thought. Her black Hogwarts robe overtopping her white blouse, which was tucked neatly into her black skirt. She had her solid, black tie tucked into her grey vest. Her calf-height white socks were changed into black knee-high socks, however, she kept on her black, ankle-high booties. Her shoes were black, it's not like Hogwarts had an extremely strict dress code, there were ways you could personalize what you were wearing. Shoes were one of those ways.

When she stepped out of the loo, she was met with a crowd of people lining up at the doors of the train. She shoved her way through, closer to the compartment where Shane was. Someone stepped on her foot and she squeaked out in surprise.

"Oi!" A voice called out. "Sorry there! You alright?"

One of the Weasley twins peered down at her as she nodded.

"You're Meadow, right?" he asked and she nodded again. "George, at your service." He bowed slightly, of course, it did not go as smoothly as he had hoped. The train's breaks kicked in as he ended up falling into her.

She bought a hand up to her forehead as she winced, "Ou."

"That did not go according to plan," George said as he rubbed his jaw.

Meadow let out a snort, "I'd say not. If this is how you always greet people, you might want a warning label."

George's eyes lit up in surprise as he grinned. "Good thing I don't normally greet people with my jaw. Your head must be hurting."

Her face broke into a smile after watching his lips curl up. "It's not too bad," Meadow replied, massaging her skin just above her left eyebrow. "Probably looks worse than what it is."

"Let me see," George said, moving her hand out of the way. "Oh, just a huge goose egg and black eye you've got starting. Other than that, it's a good thing we don't take any school pictures!"

"I do not!" Meadow gasped and bought her hand back her face. "No way! I've taken harder hits than that before and never bruised!"

George raised his eyebrows. "A lady who can take punches, sounds interesting." He winked at her and a blush crept up her neck.

The train came to a stop, so before Meadow could say anything back to the Weasley twin, the crowd in the corridor started pushing forward, the two were separated. Meadow found herself standing out on a small, dark platform in the chill of the evening.

-.-.-.

**End of chapter four! As always, leave me a comment below and have a wonderful day! **


	5. 5 Finally Home

Miracle

_The train came to a stop, so before Meadow could say anything back to the Weasley twin, the crowd in the corridor started pushing forward, the two were separated. Meadow found herself standing out on a small, dark platform in the chill of the evening. _

Chapter Five: Finally Home

As the students gathered out on the platform in the cool night, there were pushing and shoving as the upper classmen headed to the horseless carriages. Meadow did not follow them, though she did wonder if she could sneak onto one without getting caught. She looked over at the students pilling onto the dozens of carriages.

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" a voice called out, drawing Meadow's attention away from the horseless rides. A lantern popped up over the heads of many of the students. "Firs' years follow me!" The voice called again from a very large man.

Meadow blinked and leaned her head back as she looked up at the man. His kinked, brown hair was wild and much larger than Hermione Granger's own mane. His beard as equally untamed, hiding the majority of his face, however, the lantern illuminated his beaming smile, rosy cheeks, and dark eyes. This must be Hagrid, Meadow assumed, the Groundkeeper at Hogwarts. Her father told her that Hagrid worked there when he was at school as well, he lived in a small hut near the Forbidden Forest. Wandless and banned from doing magic, Hagrid had to do all his job keeping duties the long way.

"C'mon, follow me—any more firs' years?" Hagrid called and Meadow blinked, moving into motion. "Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"

The group slipped and stumbled after Hagrid down a steep, narrow path. It was so dark on either side of the group Meadow assumed there was a forest surrounding them. During the journey, nobody spoke much and Meadow had no idea who was around her.

"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his massive shoulder. The lantern swinging back and forth casting the light into the shadows and then back to the path just as quickly. "Jus' round this bend here."

Excited whispers and awing began as soon as Hagrid said this. The narrow path opened suddenly onto the edge of the Black Lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers. The place where Meadow will soon call home once again.

"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid boomed, jolting Meadow out of her admiration of the castle. The Groundskeeper was pointing at a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Meadow spotted Harry, Ron, and Shane climb into a boat and she hurried after them. However, Hermione Granger shoved her way onto the boat.

"No more than four to a boat," Granger looked at her with hard eyes as she sat down next to Shane.

"You are such a bag of boomslang skin," Meadow hissed the insult at the girl, hoping it would keep her preoccupied for the journey to figure out why she was a bag of boomslang skin. She spotted Draco looking at her during the exchange.

He beckoned her over with a small smirk. She rolled her eyes and headed over to the boat, unnoticed by all but Hermione Granger.

"See you've lost your new friends already," Draco said, trying to hit a sore spot.

Meadow narrowed her eyes at him, "Not lost, just misplaced for now." She sat next to him, "What's got your wand in a knot?"

"Absolutely nothing," Draco responded, though his words were empty. "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm fine." Meadow shook her head and fell silent.

Crabbe and Goyle were sitting in front of the two, completely oblivious from the exchange between the two blondes. They were staring at the castle in dumbfounded awe- not that Meadow could really blame them; it was a beautiful building. She, herself, found the castle to be an amazing piece of history, unable to take her eyes from the tall towers and bright lights that flickered in windows scattered among the dark brick.

"Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, whom had a boat all to himself. "Right then – FORWARD!"

The fleet of little boats took off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent during the boat ride, taking in the sights of the castle overhead. It grew taller and larger as the group got closer to the cliff the castle was build upon.

Minutes later, Hagrid yelled "Heads down!" as the first boats reached the cliff; they all bend their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of thick ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them underneath the castle, until they reached an underground harbor, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles.

"Draco, you can tell me if something's wrong," Meadow said to him quietly. As they made their way into the cave further away from the boats.

"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" Hagrid's voice echoed around as he was checking the boats once the groups had climbed out.

"Trevor!" Neville cried out relieved, holding out his hands.

"Nothing's wrong," Draco muttered back to her after watching Neville take his toad in his hands.

Meadow rolled her black orbs, "Sure."

The group headed forward through a passageway of rock after Hagrid's lamp. "You know you'll tell me eventually," Meadow added as an afterthought.

Draco looked at her sharply. "Not now," he said through gritted teeth as he looked around at the students around them.

Meadow shrugged her shoulders, everyone else was too preoccupied with the excitement of getting up to the castle. The passageway let out into a smooth, damp grass in the shadow of the castle. After a flight of stone stairs, the group of first years arrived at the giant, oak front door with large brass hinges. The heavy, smoky smell wafted from the door as Meadow took a deep breath in. It was relaxing for her. She knew she should be nervous, but the thought of finally finding her home in the castle where she felt so at ease with.

"Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?" Hagrid's voice boomed across the empty grounds. He raised his gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.

The door swung open at once to the inside of the castle. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood tall. She had a very stern face as she gazed down upon the eleven-year-olds.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid said, inclining his head respectfully to the woman.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here," her voice just as stern as her face.

This was a professor no one should cross; a professor Meadow wasn't sure how well she'd like. Little did she know, Professor McGonagall would become one of Meadow's favorites.

Professor McGonagall pulled the door wide open to show the grand entrance hall and Meadow noticed Hagrid sauntered off to the side of the castle. Just like the rest of the castle, the entrance hall was also ginormous. The large stone walls were lit up with torches, the flames licked the edges of the walls and played with the white marble staircase facing them towards the upper floors. The witch turned on her heel and lead the first years up the stairs. The clicking of heels echoed along the hall as they made their way closer to the voices that were heard from a door on the right—where the rest of the school housed it's older students for the time being. However, Professor McGonagall showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than what strangers would normally stand together.

Meadow and Draco were so close together, Meadow felt as though if she got any closer, she'd be hugging the boy. Granted, it's not like the two haven't hugged before, but it's not something they'd want to do in front of a bunch of other strange kids. However, on second thought, it was better to stand too close to Draco than to another random student.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall said. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, you house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin," Professor McGonagall continued. "Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn you house points, while any rule-breaking will cost you those points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting." Her eyes lingered on Neville's cloak, which was fastened under his left ear, and on Ron's smudged nose. Her eyes flickered off those two and looked around at the rest of the group and laid quickly upon Crabbe and Goyle, whom were looking stupidly at each other. Meadow swore she saw one of them pick their nose.

"I shall return when we are ready for you," Professor McGonagall said, neither a frown nor smile showed upon her face. "Please wait quietly."

As soon as she shut the door, whispers started up immediately. Many of the students, even those with long bloodlines, did not know how they were going to be sorted. Ideas were just being bounced off each other for the task that may be at hand; well, everyone except Meadow and Hermione Granger. Meadow already knew how students were sorted, she shared with Ron, Harry, and Shane on the train how students were sorted. Granger, on the other hand, was whispering very fast about all the spells she'd learned and wondering which one she'd need.

Meadow couldn't help but roll her eyes at the girl. For as book smart as Granger is, she sure was street dumb; the reasoning for Meadow's belief is that a normal Muggleborn would have never researched and read all of the school materials before the start of term even started. It was a ridiculous thought for anyone to expect the first years to know any sort of magic before the start of term, Muggleborn or not. Of course, Meadow was privileged in knowing some potions, but not every magical, bloodline family would teach their children things that they'd learn in school. Some families would teach things that were not taught at Hogwarts. . . such as the Dark Arts.

After a few minutes, the chatter had died down as they all stared at the door for Professor McGonagall to come back through at any moment. However, Meadow felt a chill climb up her spine, she turned as a few students screamed to her right and there were some pushing and shoving to get further away from whatever had terrified them. Flinching from the noise, she took in the pearly-white and slightly transparent ghosts that glided across the room talking to one another and hardly glancing at the first years. They seemed to be arguing.

"Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance—" a short, fat priest ghost was saying before he was interrupted.

"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost—I say, what are you all doing here?" A ghost, whom stood tall with a head of thick, curly, white hair had his face framed with a ruffle collar. He had on a petticoat with tights, and ancient shoes for a male, there was a small heel and a ruffle on the front of the shoe.

Nobody answered the ghost, however, staying silent.

"New students!" said the Fat Friar, smiling around them. His whole presence was welcoming compared to the rest of the ghosts, whom seemed to be judging them. "About to be Sorted, I suppose?"

Meadow was along with one of the ones who nodded.

"Move along now," a sharp voice said from behind the group, causing a whiplash of confusion in the group of first years. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start." Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall.

"Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told the first years, her hands clasp together in front of her. She looked so regal and professional in front of the group, Meadow couldn't help but admire her patience and tolerance for doing her job and wrangling a bunch of children. "And follow me."

Meadow found herself between Draco, in front of her, and a boy with dark skin and black hair behind her, if she was thinking correctly, Meadow thought this was Blaise Zabini. Surprisingly, Meadow did not feel the anxious energy that was swarming around the group of first years. No, this Snape felt calm as the group walked out of the chamber, across the hall, and through a pair of thick, grandiose double doors, and into the Great Hall.

It was something that Meadow only imagined, as she begged her father to give her a visual picture of this hall, it was much more than what he ever described. The enormous room housed four long tables, sitting from the back of the room to just before the front. Where there were two steps up to a perpendicular, long table. Trying to ignore the hundreds of faces staring at them, she paid attention to the details of the Great Hall. Among the tables were glittering, golden plates, goblets, and utensils. The four tables that had the students sitting at them were evenly spaced out, on the far left were silks of green and silver, Slytherin house; next to it blue and bronze, Ravenclaw; to the right, maroon and gold, Gryffindor; and finally, the far right held black and yellow, Hufflepuff. Her eyes were drawn up to the ceiling, where thousands of candles were floating midair above all the tables and above those, the night sky was shown above that with all of the stars shinning brightly. Even though Meadow expected something grand and over-the-top, she too was in awe over the beauty of the space.

Professor McGonagall led the line of first years up to the front of the Great Hall between the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor house tables. They got to the front of the room, where the first years were still lined up one-by-one, Meadow locked eyes with her father. Whom was looking much different compared to his morning Muggle clothing, he was dressed in all black, nothing wavering off that black color. He gave her a small nod and very minute smile before his grim look came back upon his face.

Silently, Professor McGonagall placed a four-legged stood in front of the first years. On top of the stool she put an old, battered pointed wizard's hat. It was patched with different leathers, frayed among most of the edges and wrinkles, and it looked filthy.

_So this is how we get sorted,_ Meadow thought to herself. _By a hat. . . but how?_ Her father never told her how the Sorting Ceremony occurred. She ducked around Draco to get a better look at the hat, noticing she was not the only one to break formation to get a closer look. Seconds later, in complete silence, the hat twitched open, a rip near the brim opened wide for his mouth—and the hat sang:

"_Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,  
But don't judge on what you see,  
I'll eat myself if you can find  
A smarter hat than me.  
_

_You can keep your bowlers black,  
Your top hats sleek and tall,  
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat  
And I can cap them all.  
_

_There's nothing hidden in your head  
The Sorting Hat can't see,  
So try me on and I will tell you  
Where you ought to be.  
_

_You might belong in Gryffindor,  
Where dwell the brave at heart,  
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry  
Set Gryffindors apart;_

_You might belong in Hufflepuff,  
Where they are just and loyal,  
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true  
And unafraid of toil;_

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,  
If you've a ready mind,  
Where those of wit and learning,  
Will always find their kind;_

_Or perhaps in Slytherin  
You'll make your real friends,  
Those cunning folk use any means  
To achieve their ends._

_So put me on! Don't be afraid!  
And don't get in a flap!  
You're in safe hands (though I have none)  
For I'm a Thinking Cap!"_

The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again. Meadow's eyebrows were raised as the hat closed its rip of a mouth. Hearing a singing hat for the wizarding world is quite tame, however, it was something Meadow didn't think she'd ever see.

"All we have to do is try on a hat?" Draco muttered the question, shaking his head. "It's grimy, is that really going to have to go on my head?"

"Oh Draco, stop it," Meadow whispered back to him. Thankfully, all they had to do was put the hat on their head and get told where they were going. Although, Meadow looked around at the room, she wished there was some more privacy during this whole thing.

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat, stepping forward as she held out a long roll of parchment. "When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said, firmly. "Abbott, Hannah!" She called, without any time for the first years to process what was going on.

A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of the line, near Meadow, and walked up to the stool. Professor McGonagall inclined her head and Hannah Abbott picked up the hat hesitantly, sat down on the stood, put the hat on her head, which fell passed her eyes, and only a moment went by—

"HUFFLEPUFF!" The hat shouted through the rip in it.

The table to the far right cheered and clapped as Hannah Abbott took the hat off, replaced it back on the stood, and rushed over to the Hufflepuff table. The Fat Friar waved at Hannah Abbott merrily.

"Bones, Susan!" A slightly chubby witch with fat cheeks, auburn, straight hair, and a terrified look on her face walked up to the stool and put the hat on.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" The hat barked again.

Meadow watched as Susan took off the hat and raised over to sit next to Hannah Abbott. Susan Bones was one of the students Meadow recognized on the train station due to her family heritage.

"Boot, Terry."

A boy with pale skin and thick, square glasses stumbled up to the stool. Where his dark, mono-lid eyes were covered by the hat.

"RAVENCLAW!"

The first table to the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them, looking relieved and adjusting his glasses.

"Brocklehurt, Mandy," also headed to Ravenclaw, where she gave Terry a smile as she sat across from him, as her blue eyes peered out from behind her straight, light blonde hair.

The first Gryffindor was called, "Brown, Lavender." Where the Gryffindor table to the right exploded into cheers. Clearly the more enthusiastic group of the four so far. She was a girl that looked like a doll. Dark blonde hair pulled into two braids that swirled around her head and a large, purple bow upon her head. Her blue eyes stuck out against her pale skin and red cheeks. There was nothing that was ugly on this girl, she was simply stunning. Meadow felt a pang of jealousy, Lavender Brown would never know the struggles of being ugly, that is, unless her personality was.

"Bulstrode, Millicent," was called up next once the Gryffindors had settled down. Meadow caught the eye of George Weasley and he winked at her. Her cheeks lit up and she looked away from him towards Millicent.

Of course, she became a Slytherin, the boulder of a girl. She reminded Meadow of the female version of Crabbe and Goyle shoved into one body. She looked just as thick as the DDs as well. The Slytherin table on the far left let out a howl along with its applause. Meadow's eyebrows went up, surprised that Slytherin even cheered at all given their stereotype.

Flora and Hestia Carrow also went to Slytherin after Millicent. The two twins identical in every way, from their black hair, pale skin, green eyes, to their walk and smile after Slytherin was called out. Meadow wasn't surprised that Hestia followed her sister.

Poppy Caxton, a petite girl with brown, curly hair bounded up to the stool with a large smile on her face. Her brown eyes hidden under the hat as it paused for the first time. After a minute or two, the Sorting Hat called out "HUFFLEPUFF." Where she joined her new housemates, the beaming smile still upon her face.

"Chambers, Rebecca," was sorted into Ravenclaw, and her smart look gave Meadow no doubt she would be one to look out for during classes.

Nina Chibbar, a quite tall and feminine-faced girl was sorted into Gryffindor. Michael Corner, a boy with black, shaggy hair, brown eyes, and light skin joined Rebecca Chambers, Mandy Brocklehurst, and Terry Boot at the Ravenclaw table.

It was no surprise to Meadow when one-half of the DDs was called up and sent to Slytherin without a second pause. Vincent Crabbe, that was, was the first boy Slytherin to join as he waddled over to sit by Millicent Bulstrode. The two looked as though they could be brother and sister. Same thick body-type. Same dumb expression upon their faces. And same movements, slow and confused.

Sebastian Daley joined the Slytherin table, whom seemed like their cheers kept getting louder to overpower the Gryffindor's ecstatic noise. Sebastian had a light smirk upon his face as he joined his new family. He just looked cool, in Meadow's opinion. His dark eyes, tanned skin, and dark, close-cut black hair had this boy look handsome. Of course, the scar upon his cheek also made him look tough.

"Das, Rohet" was sorted into Hufflepuff; a boy with a Middle Eastern look to him as he had thick, dark eyebrows and hair with dark brown eyes and a natural almond skin color. He looked very happy to be sorted into Hufflepuff, as his smile lit up his eyes.

Tracey Davis, a girl with wavy, deep brown hair and matching eyes with a stern expression upon her face was sorted into Slytherin. Nathaniel Douglas, a boy whom towered over the rest of the first years, with his military-cut blonde hair and striking navy eyes joined Ravenclaw.

Fay Dunbar, a short girl with a round, chubby face had two, thick brown or auburn hair braided into two French braids joined the Gryffindors. Annabel Entwistle, a girl who looked exotic with her sharp cheekbones, ochre skin-tone, and topaz eyes joined Hufflepuff. "Fairbourne, Natalie," a skinny girl with ash-black hair, beige-brown eyes, and an acorn shaped head, was sorted into Gryffindor, whereas Scarlet Fawcett, a girl with cool sandy-brown skin, straight umber black hair, and leaf green and brown eyes joined Ravenclaw. Seamus Finnigan, a short looking fellow with a brown bowl-cut hairstyle and chocolate eyes joined Fay Dunbar, Nina Chibbar, and Lavender Brown at the Gryffindor table, being the first boy to join the house. "Flinch-Fletchley, Justin", a boy with dark brown hair and eyes and chubby cheeks with a jolly smile upon his face as he joined Hufflepuff.

Michael Frimley was sent to Hufflepuff. Anthony Goldstein joined Ravenclaw. The other half of the DDs, Gregory Goyle, joined his other half and his long-lost sister at the Slytherin table. Hermione Granger ran up and sat at the stool for a very long time, her wild mane of bushy brown hair barely keeping the hat above her nose, before eagerly joining Gryffindor. Daphne Greengrass, a very pretty and model-like girl with platinum blonde hair and ice blue eyes joined Slytherin, where she sat comfortably away from the three rocks that pertained to Crabbe, Goyle, and Millicent, all sitting together stupidly grinning at each other. Daphne and Sebastian sat together where she gave him a small smile and he grinned back over something she said.

Austin Gurthrie joined Ravenclaw. "Hanley, Niles," a dark looking lad with short, brunette hair joined Slytherin. Declan Haworth, a dark-skinned boy with a large, handsome smile was sorted into Ravenclaw, where he high-fived Anthony Goldstein. Gwendoline Hedgeflower, a girl with a black-haired pixie cut and stunning hazel eyes was sorted into Hufflepuff; though she looked the opposite of a stereotypical Hufflepuff would look like. Gwendoline Hedgeflower did not look sweet and innocent- she looked badass and tough. Geoffrey Hooper joined Gryffindor almost invisibly, as Meadow's mind might have started to wander at this point in the evening. Wayne Hopkins and Hufflepuff may have been together, but Meadow couldn't be sure. There were still around half of the first years left standing and all Meadow wanted to do was get sorted so she could eat her heart out.

"Jones, Jessica" was sorted into Gryffindor; whereas "Jones, Megan" was sent to Hufflepuff. The two looked distinctly different, Meadow couldn't tell if they were twins or just weirdly shared the same last name. Jessica had an innocent look to her, even though she was clearly albino, her large, round greyish-blue eyes looked permanently surprised, especially since her white eyebrows were scrunched together in worry as she walked to the Gryffindor table. Her white hair was long and pulled up into a ponytail. Jessica was more athletic built and walked with grace. Megan Jones had a black bob haircut and dark auburn orbs. She was all skin and bone, it looked like, as she was the skinnier out of the two without any defined muscle mass. Megan was also tanner than Jessica, but that goes without saying when you compare one skin-tone to an albino's pale complexion.

"Lennox, Toby" and "Li, Sue" both joined Ravenclaw whereas "Lithgow, Gabriel" joined Slytherin. Meadow knew she should be paying attention better to the sorting, as this was her new classmates and some of them would be her housemates. She just couldn't stop herself from thinking about all of the mouthwatering food that came after this.

Neville Longbottom was called up to the stool. Meadow's attention snapped back into focus as Neville tripped up the stairs to the stool. The hat took a very long time to decide where Neville belonged. Meadow frequently glanced at her watch, although it did not make time speed up, and made it feel slower, Neville had been up there for nearly seven and a half minutes before the hat ripped out "GRYFFINDOR." Neville was so excited to have been put in a house, he ran off the platform area with the Sorting Hat still on, where he had to return, embarrassed, and gave the hat to Shane Lupin.

Shane's sickly looking face became hidden from view has the hat sat over his head. Meadow breathed in as she looked at her nervous friend. "GRYFFINDOR" the hat roared and Meadow exhaled. Thankful that her childhood friend was sorted into a house that would take care of him.

Isobel MacDougal came next. She, along side what looked to be her twin brother, Morgan MacDougal, were sorted into Ravenclaw. Ernie MacMillan sorted into Hufflepuff, where his adorably, tubby body looked like he belonged.

"Malfoy, Draco," Professor McGonagall's voice rang through the air. Draco smirked as he swaggered up to the podium. The hat barely touched his head when it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!" Draco went and joined the Carrow twins, Tracey Davis, Daphne Greengrass, Niles Hanley, Gabriel Lithgow, Sebastian Daley, and of course, the three DDs, Millicent, Crabbe, and Goyle. Meadow turned to look at the rest of the sorting.

Hugo Mattingley sent to Ravenclaw. Raza Mohammad, a girl who wore a hijab, and Amanda Moon, a girl with large star-shaped earrings, were sorted into Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, respectively. And Gregory Munslow was sorted into Hufflepuff.

The Great Hall started to grow antsy from sitting for so long, however, Meadow noticed that her class may have been one of the smaller classes. It was not a shock, as the war had been going on for a few years at that point, and the class sizes were sure to have suffered a bit.

"Ndiaye, Kellah," a girl with warm, umber brown skin and eyes was sorted into Gryffindor. She beamed when the hat shouted the house and headed towards the applause.

Theodore Nott also joined Slytherin, his short, bronze hair and deep blue eyes cut into Meadow as he smirked and walked towards the sea of green and silver. Theodore was also tall for his age. However, that didn't stop him from also looking like a giant goofball despite the douchebag look on his face.

Aiden O'Conner, a boy with deep red hair and brown eyes; Bem Oladoyinbo, a lad with rich black skin, buzzed, black hair, and dark eyes; and Andrew Owly, a nerdy-looking boy with Muggle braces, skinny body, and brown messy hair with taped, silver rimmed glasses were all sorted into Gryffindor.

"Page, Grant" joined Ravenclaw. "Parkinson, Pansy" a girl whom had an upturned nose, making her look like a pug with her short black bob and brown, beady eyes, was sorted into Slytherin. She immediately shoved her way closest to Draco and Meadow rolled her eyes. Being touched and sought out was something that the Draco Meadow knew, would never want. Surprisingly, he took it well. Padma Patil was sorted into Ravenclaw, whereas her twin, Parvati Patil, joined Gryffindor. The two were equally identically and equally as beautiful as the other. Their almond shaped, rich eyes and straight, black hair, looked amazing against their terra-cotta brown skin tone.

Eldon Pembroke joined Hufflpuff. Sally-Anne Perks joined Slytherin. Swati Pevekar joined Ravenclaw. Meadow found herself with wandering eyes as she took in the details of the walls. There were going to be people she didn't remember or would never get to know. And that was okay, because Meadow found the people she wanted to spend time with.

"Potter, Harry!"

As Harry stepped forward, whispers suddenly broke out across the Great Hall like hissing fires. And Meadow's attention snapped onto the boy she met on the train.

"_Potter,_ did she say?"

"_The_ Harry Potter?"

"Got to be."

"Must be."

"It's Harry _fricken _Potter!"

The hat dropped over Harry's eyes. It seemed to be having some trouble choosing a place to put him; as Harry was one of the longer ones up on the stool. However, after screwing up it's makeshift face yet again, the hat yelled "GRYFFINDOR!" Meadow gave him a smile as he walked over to the table that blasted into the loudest cheers of the night. He looked dazed and Meadow felt that he looked right though her, as if she was a ghost.

"We got Potter! We got Potter!" The Weasley twins yelled, standing on the bench and dancing. Percy Weasley the Prefect got up and shook Harry's had vigorously as he led Harry to the table near the rest of the first years.

"Reedham, Yolanda" a girl with tanned, summer skin, a large white smile that stretched from ear to ear, green eyes, and slicked back, blonde hair, was sorted into Ravenclaw. Meadow's throat became very thick as she tried to swallow. The letter "S" was growing closer. All of the bliss and relaxation Meadow was once feeling was waved away as anxiety crashed into Meadow like a hurricane. As much as she wanted to know where she belonged, her last name was a dead giveaway that she had an unfair advantage over other students.

It was the opposite; however, Meadow knew her father would not be easy on her or hand her points. She'd have to prove she was better than the best; that she was far more advanced than any other first year in decades. Yet, her last name would have people treating her differently. No matter what house she was put into.

Lynette Sawley went to Hufflepuff. She had strawberry blonde hair, freckles splattered across the bridge of her nose, and twany beige eyes. Relief spread across her face as she joined the rest of the new Hufflepuffs. Bhupen Shastri headed over to Slytherin, a smirk upon his young, almond brown face, showing he really was a Slytherin at heart.

"Slaw, Omar," joined Ravenclaw, a boy with a strong jawbone and facial structure, fixed his tie as he walked over to the blue and bronze table.

Jack Sloper, a boy with a mess of brown hair and brown eyes, looking slightly. . . confused? As he placed the hat back on the stool after picking it up and looking at it. Professor McGonagall cleared her throat and Jack Sloper blinked at her.

"Put the hat on and sit on the stool," Professor McGonagall said firmly.

Jack jumped into action, grabbing the hat, slamming it on his head, and sitting—not on the stool, as he missed the stool and fell backwards. He was falling—in slow motion. As the fall continued to happen, the hat shouted out "GRYFFINDOR." And Jack fast-forwarded into normal time during the last few inches he had to fall.

The Hall was torn between laughing, gasping, and complete shock at Jack Sloper. However, the boy jumped right on up with a laugh upon his face, returned the hat to Professor McGonagall and not the stool and headed towards Hufflepuff. Only for the Hufflepuff students to shove him over to the Gryffindor table. That was one wreck of a child, Meadow thought to herself as her eyes were wide, she felt like she was experiencing secondhand embarrassment. Even though it seemed that Jack was not embarrassed at all.

"Smith, Zacharias," a short, skinny blonde boy with an upturned nose and a cynical expression upon his face as he was sorted into Hufflepuff.

There weren't many kids left now. Four girls and Meadow, and six boys left—

"Snape, Meadow," Professor McGonagall called out.

There it is, her last name is out. There's no hiding who she is now. The best she can do is prove to everyone she's not her father. That is, if people even see her for who she is and not just her last name. It'll be harder for Meadow to shake her last name. It's not like Potter, where the students never knew his parents. With Snape, the students here physically know her father and tended to loath him.

Chewing her lip, Meadow stepped forward from the spot she had been rooted in since the Sorting started. She looked at Shane for some support, however, she caught the faces the Weasley twins had upon their faces. Meadow assumed Fred's face was the one holding a mixture of shock and disgust; whereas George's face was a combination of confusion, hurt, and disbelief. Harry had a look of bewilderment upon his face as he heard her name and the whispers that followed. She couldn't bear to look at anyone else as she walked to the stool and hat.

"Snape?"

"That's what she said,"

"Snape has a daughter?"

"Couldn't be—"

She placed the hat upon her head and watched as the staring eyes of shock and amazement disappeared into a thick, velvet curtain of black. The sound of the hall was drowned out as the hat made an "Ah! A great mind you have here," it said into her ear. "But difficult. Very resourceful, you are. You have a lot of nerve and determination in here. Not afraid to be a leader. Yet, hesitant and caring. Interesting. So where shall I put you?"

_Where I belong most,_ Meadow thought. _Just put me where I belong._

"Where you belong, eh?" the voice said. "Well then, are you sure?"

_Just where I belong,_ Meadow thought again. _I don't want games, I just want to be where I belong._

"Well then, you will make your father proud," the hat said, "Better be—SLYTHERIN!"

Although the hat was not upon her head for very long, she had been the longest Slytherin with the hat upon her head for this year. Everyone else barely put the hat on their heads before taking it off. Meadow took the hat off her head and replaced it upon the stool. She headed towards the sea of green and silver applause. Towards Draco, whom was grinning and clapping loudly, standing up along side a few others.

"Well done," a girl, with blonde, giant curls and muddy-green eyes with a Perfect pin stuck on her robes said to Meadow with a small, light clap on the shoulder.

"Never fail to disappoint, now do you, Doe?" Draco said to her as he moved over for her to sit by him. She did, hesitantly, and as she sat down gained enough courage to look over at the Weasley twins, Harry, and Shane. All of whom, were staring at her in mistrust. Even Shane, who knew her almost all his life, had his jaw wide open as she joined the Slytherins. Her new family. Her eyes slid by Ron Weasley, still standing in line as his outraged expression upon his face realized whose daughter she was; the dreaded, harsh, and mean Professor Snape.

"Stickney, Hazel" was called after Meadow and was sorted into Ravenclaw immediately. Alistair Thaxted into Hufflepuff. "Thomas, Dean" into Gryffindor. Lesley Toddington and Darrell Turner joined Hufflepuff. Lisa Turpin, after a few minutes, joined Ravenclaw. Leanne Vain joined Hufflepuff—only four first years left to be sorted. Rose Wax, a pretty girl with rose-gold hair, pink cheeks, a pouting mouth, and round, midnight blue eyes joined Gryffindor. Her name fit her face, in Meadow's opinion.

"Weasley, Ronald," Professor McGonagall's stern voice called.

The redhead made his way up to the stool, putting on a hat. Barely a second later, "GRYFFINDOR!" came out of the hat. The table jumped into action, accepting its newest member.

Aron Woodbridge joined Ravenclaw. Only one student left.

"Zabini, Blaise."

"SLYTHERIN!"

Meadow clapped along with the rest of her house as they accepted their last student to join, and the last first year of the Sorting Ceremony. She was the last girl to join Slytherin, and the second to last newest Slytherin. She watched as Blaise sauntered over to the table.

Meadow took her eyes off of the dark skinned boy and looked at Professor McGonagall, whom rolled up her scroll, vanished it and levitated the stool and Sorting Hat after her as she walked through a hidden door beyond the teacher's table. Meadow looked up at the High Table properly now. Closest to Meadow, her father sat, watching her as she greeted Blaise Zabini. He gave her a small nod in acknowledgement. Meadow smiled back at him, although, she wasn't sure if he was happy that she became one of his students.

She let her eyes roam the rest of the table, however, she didn't recognize any of the professors on the left side. However, in the center, a large, gold chair sat with Professor Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of the school and someone Harry found to be intriguing. Professor McGonagall seated herself to the chair on the right, or Professor Dumbledore's left. And the far right, the most opposite side from her father, sat Hagrid, whom was happily smiling at the Gryffindor table. Meadow assumed Harry and Hagrid had waved at each other.

Professor Dumbledore got to his feet once McGonagall was sitting. He was beaming at all the students, his long silver hair and beard extending further than the table that stood around his hip level. He opened his arms wide, pleased to see all of the students sitting in front of him.

"Welcome!" he called, though his voice was not magically magnified, the hall was so silent it was heard into the furthest corners of the room. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!" Dumbledore sat down as the students cheered and clapped. Meadow took it as a good sign that students were excited to come back to Hogwarts.

Clearly something here was magical and homely.

She took a deep breath in, trying to savor all of the sounds, sights, and smells of her first day at Hogwarts—hold on—smells. Something smelt delicious. Meadow opened her eyes and saw more food that she ever imagined for a feast: roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, fries, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, and, peppermint humbugs? That was quite a weird thing to include in a feast.

Taking a few of her favorite things, Meadow made herself a plate that she knew she could never finish. "New first years," an old, gauntly voice said from the other side of Draco, behind him and Pansy Parkinson. "Welcome to Slytherin."

Meadow glanced at Draco, confused and alarmed that the ghost was by them with no explanation and drenched in blood. A man with blank staring eyes, a skeletal face, and chains around his neck, arms, and legs; he might have been handsome when he was alive, despite the fact that his clothes had to be dated back to the 10th or 11th century. His pearly-white appearance had on tights with high-heeled boots, multiple layers of long tunics, a thick belt, and a cloak that was pinned together with a large jewel. Of course, the chains wrapped overtop of his clothing, and the silver blood splattered everywhere.

"Slytherin hasn't lost the house championship for six years now," the ghost said. "Don't lose it for us this year," he smirked at another ghost nearby the Gryffindor table. Meadow looked over just in time to see the ghost pull his left ear and rip off his head, so it was hanging on his shoulder with a thread of skin still attached. It was the same ghost from the room before the first years got Sorted.

"Ugh!" Meadow exclaimed. She was not the only one who expressed displeasure in watching that encounter.

"Nearly Headless Nick," the ghost said. "The Gryffindor ghost."

"How did he become nearly headless?" Meadow asked the mournful ghost.

He readjusted his chains and they rattled, "Someone tried to behead him, it didn't work."

Meadow's broiled potatoes suddenly didn't taste as good and she shivered with the thought of being beheaded and not beheaded. Thankful, the ghost got up and floated down the table, engaging in small talk with the upper classmen.

"Who was that?" Meadow asked, trying to shake the goosebumps the ghost left on her.

"The Bloody Baron," a boy across the table said. "He's the Slytherin ghost." He had light brown hair, cut in a taper fade. He had dark eyes and a kind face. "Terence Higgs," he said, holding out his hand to her.

She took it, "Meadow."

"Professor Snape's kid," Terence said, and Meadow wasn't sure if it was a question or a statement.

She blinked, taken aback by his bluntness. "Yes," Meadow responded quietly.

"So you actually are?" Pansy Parkinson, with an upturned nose, making her look like a pug with her short black bob and brown, beady eyes.

"Yes," Meadow repeated as she looked at her classmate.

"I didn't know Snape had a wife," another upperclassman said, the girl who welcomed Meadow to the table after she was sorted. The Prefect.

"He doesn't," Meadow split out, regretting it immediately. The group stared at her. "Sorry—my mum, they're just engaged right now. Never found a good time to get married."

"Oh, well that makes sense," the Prefect responded. "Obviously with Snape having to be here during the school year, they just want to make the most of their time together when he's home."

Meadow nodded. "Mom's good with being understanding," it wasn't a lie. "She's patient. And with all they've been through. . ."

"But the war has been over for nearly a decade now," the Prefect responded, obvious to the fact that the war still holds scars on many wizarding families.

Meadow gave a half-smile. "The war isn't over, you and I both know that, Gemma," Terence cut in. "Leave the poor girl alone, she's not her parents. She doesn't know why they're not married." Though she was glad for Terence's interruption, she did know why they never got married. And she was not about to let people know about her mother's lack of health.

Gemma narrowed her eyes at Terence. "Watch your tongue," she glanced around at the group closest to them. Meadow, Draco, Pansy Parkinson, Daphne Greengrass, Theodore Nott, and Blaise Zabini were all looking at the two upperclassmen with wary eyes. Crabbe, Goyle, and Millicent Bulstrode where still stuffing their faces with as much food as possible, not bothering to look up or engage in any small talk. Meadow figured they couldn't multitask anyway. Most of the other new first years were busy with chatting and eating.

"But we don't have to worry about the war or anything else apart from school. We're here to win the house cup and the quidditch cup again. That is, if Terence becomes the new Seeker."

"Whoa!" Theodore Nott said. "You're the Seeker?"

"Not yet, I have to try out this year for it," Terence said quickly; however, it didn't matter. The rest of the group bombarded Terence with Quidditch questions now. What are the other teams like? How many years have we won? Was there any time we lost to another team?

Meadow looked back at Gemma, the girl clearly knew how to divert a conversation. She had much to learn from the Prefect, that is, if Gemma was willing to teach her.

When everyone ate as much as they could, the remains of the food faded from the plates, leaving them sparkling clean as before. A moment later the desserts appeared. Blocks of ice cream in every flavor you could think of, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate éclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, Jell-O, rice pudding. . .

Meadow helped herself to a sweet roll, and the talk turned into their summers.

"We went to Greece," Draco said, smartly. "Of course, we had to check out all of the best wandmakers for me, you know."

Daphne and Theodore whispered something to each other and snickered about it. "What's so funny, you two?" Blaise Zabini questioned.

"Oh, nothing really," Daphne responded with a wave of her hand. "We were just thinking about our families' vacation to Algarve. Blue seas, clear skies, always so sunny and beautiful. Where did you go this year, Blaise?" Daphne's sweet voice and cute smile turned the attention from her to the dark skinned boy.

Blaise shrugged. "You know Mother, we traveled around while she met different men," his face scrunched up for a hot second before it relaxed. "I think she may have found a new husband."

"That's wonderful for her," Theodore said with a smirk. "How many is this one? Four? Or is it five?"

"Five," Blaise responded smugly, ignoring Theodore's dig at him and his mother. "That's more love and gold you could ever imagine in your lifetime."

Theodore glanced at Daphne, "I'd only want one wife anyway."

Meadow's heart melted, so romantic, it didn't matter to her that they were only eleven years old where love didn't mean a thing. It was the idea of love, and clearly, Theodore and Daphne would be childhood sweethearts.

"You two are disgusting," Draco piped up looking between the two boys with a grim expression upon his face. "I don't even want a wife, so much work. The man has to go out and work, bring back money, and then the wife spends it all. Then say you have children-which I don't even want to think about what it takes to make a child; and then they all suck up more money. So you're working harder only to spend more gold and not make as much as you once did."

"Draco, I don't even know why you're worried about money," Pansy scoffed. "Your family is one of the richest in the wizarding world."

Blaise laughed, "I wouldn't say one of the richest."

"Well his family is certainly powerful," Pansy responded with a smirk. "His dad can get into anywhere and has friends in all the right places."

"That's enough you two," Draco barked out. "My father _is_ a man with many talents. Befriending high ranked Ministry officials is one of them."

Meadow bit her lip to quit from retorting that Lucius also had a talent for beating up his wife and son. Thankfully, Dumbledore stood up before the group of eleven-year-old Slytherins could continue to challenge each other. The hall fell silent as the Headmaster stood quietly with his hands clutched in front of him.

"Ahem—just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you:

"First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well." His twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of the Weasley twins.

"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch.

"And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

Meadow balked at the Headmaster's words. "Is he serious?" Daphne asked, voicing the question Meadow wanted to know the answer to.

"Must be," Gemma said, with a frown upon her face. "It's odd, he usually gives a reason why we're not allowed to go somewhere—the forest's full of dangerous beats, everyone knows that." She flipped her blonde curls, and her lips formed a snarl, "I would have thought he would have told _us_ Prefects, though."

"And now, before we got to bed, let us sing the school song!" Dumbledore cried with a large, beaming smile. The teachers all have a forced smile upon their faces, apart from her father, who still had a face of discomfort.

Dumbledore gave his wand a flick and a long, golden ribbon flew out of it. The ribbon raised in the air, above the tables, and twisted around itself into words. "Everyone pick their favorite tune! And off we go!" Dumbledore said.

The hall filled with a harsh thunderclap of sound.

"_Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,  
Teach us something please,  
Whether we be old and bald  
Or young with scabby knees,  
With some interesting stuff,  
For now they're bare and full of air,  
Dead flies and bits of fluff,  
So teach us things worth knowing,  
Just do your best, we'll do the rest,  
And learn until our brains all rot."_

Meadow finished the song with a look of confusion at the lyrics. It actually was not the most uplifting and encouraging school song; rather morbid, thinking about death and brains rotting. Everyone finished at different times, and Meadow noticed that Draco didn't engage in the song at all. He was not the only Slytherin who did not join in with the song.

Finally, the Weasley twins were left singing alone to a very slow funeral march. Meadow tried to hide a smile; however, it was noticed by a few of the Slytherins, Terence and Daphne included. Dumbledore conducted the last lines with his wand and when the twins had finished, he was one of those who clapped the loudest.

"The Weasleys are such a disgrace to the wizarding world," Draco said with a disgusted look upon his face.

"Just because you don't agree with how they live, doesn't make them a disgrace," Meadow snipped at him quietly. Draco's eyes flashed in surprise at her response to him and she stared him down. However, Draco was not the only one who heard Meadow's remark, Terence Higgs, also overheard. Meadow's eyes locked onto the second year's, realizing that he was studying her; and Meadow wasn't sure if it was for a good reason.

"Ah, music," Dumbledore said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"

The Slytherin first years followed Gemma through the crowd of upperclassmen that started chatting amongst each other, cross houses, and out of the Great Hall. Meadow glanced over at the group of Gryffindor first years, where Shane, Harry, Neville, Ron, and Hermione were all walking close by each other after Percy Weasley. She waved at Shane, whom caught her eye and he gave her a small, sad smile.

Meadow made a mental note to talk to her old friend in the morning, she hoped the house separation wouldn't distance their friendship. As she followed the rest of her housemates away from the Gryffindors and down the stairs, Gemma called out "Be careful of the staircases, they like to change. There's a few trick steps to look out for as well." She hoped over one of the stairs and the first years followed suit. As Meadow went to hop the step, a hand pushed her shoulder. Her balance was thrown off in the air and as she came down to the next step, Meadow stumbled and reached out for the railing. She caught herself before grabbing the railing, however, she bumped into Daphne Greengrass, the striking blonde with blue eyes.

"Oi," Daphne exclaimed and grabbed Meadow to steady the two from falling. "Did you forget about the trick step?"

"No, someone shoved me," Meadow replied and looked behind the two, up the stairs where Pansy Parkinson had an irate expression upon her face. Daphne followed Meadow's eyes up to Pansy.

"Ugh, that girl," Daphne rolled her eyes. "I can't stand her." The two watched as Pansy skipped over the trick step and hurried closer to the front, near Gemma, where Daphne and Meadow wouldn't try anything in front of. "She's just a green monster."

Meadow nodded in agreement; jealousy was never a good look on anyone. It created bullies. "What's holding you two up?" Theodore Nott asked.

"Parkinson," Daphne glowered as the three walked in step behind the rest of the Slytherin first years.

"Already?" Theodore rolled his eyes.

"Of course, she has to make sure everyone knows that Draco is off limits," Daphne responded.

"That's what that push was about?" Meadow exclaimed. "Oh, for Merlin's beard, I've known Draco since I was a baby. If I want to talk to him, I'm allowed to. Like I'll have anyone push me around," a sneer appeared on Meadow's face, twisting it angrily.

"I wouldn't waste too much time on her," Daphne replied gently as they finally reached the lowest level of the grand staircase. "Karma will haunt her eventually."

The three walked in silence the rest of the way, Gemma was shouting out tips and tricks to remember the corridors-none of that would matter, the first years would still be confused wrecks for the first week or so. They slowed to a stop and Meadow peaked around from the side of the group, she was the shortest of the group.

"Now this is the entrance to the Slytherin Common Room," Gemma Farley's voice said sharply, demanding everyone to pay attention. "Now you can find this piece of wall by remembering where it is, or you can find this little guy." She pointed to something on the wall. "This small snake will appear upon the wall; however, he does change places so beware. This month's password is _'Power'_." A small slide in the dark, stone walls opened, revealing the dimly lit common room. "Remember it or be shut out of the common room. Slytherins do not tolerate those who do not remember the password and you will find yourself sleeping in the corridor."

"Don't scare them too much, Gemma," a male's voice called out from the common room as the first years filled into the area.

Meadow was not the only one who flinched at the voice, Gemma did as well.

"Merlin's beard, Adrian!" The Prefect exclaimed with a hand over her heart. "How did you even get here before us?"

"Secret passageways," the older boy shrugged with a lazy smile upon his face. "This is the place where you can sit, study, work on homework, hang out with other housemates, and play games. Don't let Farley frighten you all too much." Adrian winked at the first years.

Meadow looked around at the common room. On the far side, there were large windows from floor to ceiling that were pitch black and she was unable to see out of them; they were framed with green velvet curtains. A fireplace separated the windows and was made of a dark stone and wood. The floor, also dark stone, but held a large green and silver rug among most of the floor. Unable to care about the rest of the details of the common room for now, she looked around and found two elegant, stone and steel staircases behind her, above the entrance to the hallway.

Gemma ushered the first years off to their dormitories. There were two doors with lists on the girls' side for the first-year landing. Meadow assumed the boys would also be the same way. As Meadow and Daphne walked towards the door on the left, away from Pansy Parkinson.

Daphne squealed in delight, "Oh thank Merlin!" She turned to Meadow and lowered her voice, glancing at Pansy, "We're not with her."

Relief spread throughout Meadow, allowing her boiling blood to cool like lava that escaped from its volcano. "Who else are we with?" Meadow asked.

"Tracey Davis and Hestia Carrow, one of the twins," Daphne responded, looking at Meadow, though, something caught her eye. "I think Draco's trying to get your attention," she pointed across the railing towards the boys' dormitories.

"Thanks," Meadow muttered as Daphne let out a small giggle before pushing open their dormitory door and disappearing through it. She walked over towards the railing. "What?" She whispered at the boy.

"You asked what was wrong," Draco responded, his grey eyes. "I'm worried about Mother."

Meadow looked around, worried someone might overhear, but the first years all went to bed and the upperclassmen were just getting in, rumbling and muttering sleepily. "What happened?"

"I'm just worried for her while I'm here," Draco responded, his eyes anxiously darting around. "What if something puts Father over the edge?"

"Nothing like that will happen," Meadow reassured him. "Aunt Cici will be safe. She knows how to handle herself and Lucius. She cares way too much for you to be worried about her." She glanced around again, the upperclassmen had started to wander up the stairs, "Go to bed, people are coming. I'll see you in the morning."

With that she turned and went through her dormitory door. Tracey Davis, the brunette with wavy hair and brown eyes already had her curtains pulled around her bed. Hestia Carrow, one-half of the Slytherin twins, was just coming out of the bathroom pulling her black hair into a knot, her green eyes stood out against her pale complexion.

"Oh, Meadow!" Hestia exclaimed with a warm smile. "We were wondering where you went! Daphne said you'd be right in, but I thought you might have slipped out to go talk to Professor Snape, being that he's your dad and all."

"I told you she just had to check on something," Daphne laughed and rolled her eyes as she pulled a nightgown over her head.

"What did you have to check on?" Hestia questioned.

"Oh, just a question on class schedule with Gemma," Meadow replied, smoothing over the awkwardness of Daphne being reluctant to tell Hestia what Meadow was doing. Meadow was grateful for the loyalty Daphne displayed. "I'm surprised Daphne didn't tell you, it really wasn't that big of a deal," she winked at her Slytherin friend as she grabbed some pajamas from her trunk that was stationed at the end of the last bed in the dorm. Thankfully, Hestia believed Meadow's lie and climbed into bed, pulling the curtains around her.

Meadow used the toilet quickly and changed, she was by no means as brave as Daphne to change in front of strangers, even if they were her roommates. When she walked out, she was happy to see that Daphne also climbed into bed already. Bee, Meadow's kitten, was waiting for her on her pillow and mewed softy. She climbed under the green and silver comforter and Bee settled herself down next to Meadow's head.

The dream of being called SQUIB did not haunt Meadow that night. She slept peacefully, knowing she was finally home.

-.-.-.


	6. 6 The Potion Master's Daughter

**Hello all! I'm so excited to be jumping back in! I did post 2 chapters in that last update; I think I'll do anywhere from 2-4 at a time! To explain my reasoning for "bulk" posting: I like being able to go back and revise something quickly in the previous chapter or two to allow for a better transition (in case something changed where I don't like how the one was set up beforehand). I hope this makes sense and I hope you all still hang on during the "in-between" chapter breaks! I am also continuing looking back at chapters that I've already posted and rereading them—as I have a specific plot going on for Meadow's own character development, but I want it slow and understood why she's changing. It probably won't been seen much in this first book-and I'm actually hoping that it might not be seen at all unless you compare Book Seven Meadow to Book One Meadow! I also just want to make sure I'm continuing to work on other characters and including them and their character development. So this bulk posting gives me the chance to go back, rewrite and edit the chapters many, many, MANY times. **

**I will be continuing to post ALL seven books on this story- so no worries about trying to keep up with different fanfic webpages-this will be the only one for Meadow's POV. . . I may have mentioned I am planning on doing two spin-offs of Meadow's universe, HOWEVER, I do have to wait for one of those to be started later on in this series as it will explain more of what's going on during Meadow's own years from a different perspective. And the other one I am taking my time with. I really want to be as precise and accurate as possible while adding my own story's twist to it. And if you are interested in those, I'll make a small announcement at the beginning of one of the chapters to let you know that they are up and running. -again, totally up to you if you'd want to read those, I just really want to write them for my own pleasure as I enjoy writing and I really enjoy writing Meadow. **

**Another side note, I have created my own version of the Slytherin's timetable. And after doing a lot of research and time checking, the best I could do was make sure of two classes- Double Potions and Flying. The rest is my own made-up stuff. Much like everything else I've been writing, I am just utilizing J.K. Rowling's universe and already made characters. **

**P.S. I will probably not be making many A/N's as much anymore, however, feel free to leave a comment (also state you'd like a reply somewhere in there) and I will answer! Special thanks to the first reviewer! I'm very glad you went out of your norm and clicked! So this is a really long note and I will conclude it with: ENJOY CHAPTER SIX Y'ALL!**

Miracle

_The dream of being called SQUIB did not haunt Meadow that night. She slept peacefully, knowing she was finally home. _

Chapter Six: The Potion Master's Daughter

The next morning Meadow found herself waiting in the common room for, well, anyone really. She took the time to look around, now that the daylight lit up the dark room. Dim sunlight twinkled through the windows, distorted by the water that surrounded the common room. The furniture was a mixture of green and white chairs and couches surrounding the fireplace and one side of the room. On the other side, long wooden tables with wood benches and bookcases; the study area, one could say. There were a few chess tables in that area as well. Trophies, plaques, and portraits were scattered along the walls of the common room. The overall atmosphere of the Slytherin Common Room was something that was expected, dark and grim.

"Familiarizing yourself?" A voice asked from behind the stairs up to the dormitories. Meadow flinched, but then found herself peaking around the boys' side staircase, where two, plush white chairs sat, with a small table between them. Terence Higgs was sitting in one of the chairs.

"Yes," Meadow responded, looking curiously at him. "Spying on me?"

Terence shrugged, "It's the common room. I'm allowed to be in here too."

"Being in here is one thing. Hiding behind a staircase and watching me is a different thing," Meadow pointed out.

"Just didn't want to interrupt you," he replied, and offered the other chair to her. "You seemed curious about the common room décor."

Meadow had a light smirk on her face as she took a seat. "I was. I saw it. Now I'm not."

"So intriguing," Terence replied, matching her light smirk; though, his face was dark from the shadows cast upon his face. "Tell me, something. You looked awfully upset when your name was called at the Sorting. And then, you wind up here. You should be happy, being under your father's house." Immediately, Meadow's mood changed. "You don't have to tell me. I was just wondering," Terence said quickly, as Meadow's face must have shown her anger and shock.

"No, it's fine," Meadow rushed out, she didn't know why she said that. Now she must tell him, she took a deep breath in, and slowly let it out. "I just don't like my last name, is all. People will judge my name, and not who I am—I knew—I knew as soon as 'Snape,' was called, nobody would listen after that. Nobody will remember Meadow. But everyone will remember Snape. Especially here; where he's my dad, and your professor." She bit her lip to stop herself from rambling. A terrible habit whenever she couldn't form the idea of what she wanted to say with how she should say it.

"Understandable," Terence breathed. Something about him was calming and Meadow unknowingly put her trust in him. "Sounds like a lot to be going through. Don't worry, you'll find a few friends who see you not as your last name."

She gave him a pointed look, "How would you know?"

Terence smirked, "You're a Slytherin now. You get to deal with the assumptions anyway."

Meadow's face fell, "Well that doesn't help me at all. . ."

"How come?" Terence asked, concern on his brow.

"My best friend became a Gryffindor. . ." Meadow replied, gloomy.

"I'm sure whatever happens between you two, you'll find ways to be friends. A few years ago there was a Gryffindor and Slytherin romance. Jon Jorgenson, the Slytherin, and Hayley Evergreen, the Gryffindor. As far as I know, they're still together and planning on getting married. I always wondered how they got together."

"Jon Jorgenson and Hayley Evergreen?" Meadow repeated, mouthing over the names.

"You know them?"

She shook her head, "No. I don't believe so." _But why do those names sound so familiar? _"How did you know of them?"

"They graduated from Hogwarts last year, Jon was cool. He didn't take any smack from anyone. I want to say he and Hayley got together when they were in their fifth year. Jon mentioned they had been friends for longer and that there was just something electric between them." Terence shrugged, looking uninterested in the scandalous romance. "He was the Seeker last year—so Slytherin will be looking for a new one," Terence said, his face became eager.

"You play?" Meadow asked.

"I'm thinking about trying out," the boy said, his dark brown eyes bore into hers.

"You should!" She replied.

"It's nerve racking, trying out," Terence responded, nonchalantly. "I'll have to talk to Madam Hooch today as well."

"Who's the Captain?" Meadow asked, she wasn't paying attention to the Quidditch conversation from the previous night.

"Marcus Flint," he said, a grim look on his face. "Not exactly the brightest." Terence looked around at the still empty common room, "Don't tell anyone I said that," he winked at her and stood up.

"Where are you off to?" Meadow questioned him as she stood as well.

"Breakfast, I'm starving," He replied and gathered his bag up from the ground.

Meadow wondered if she should have packed a bag for her classes, however, she didn't even know which classes she would have today. And then her mind wandered to Daphne, thinking about waiting for her. Nevertheless, Meadow followed Terence towards the opening of the common room. As the two made their way further from the Slytherin Dungeon, there were more students roaming around. And, although Meadow and Terence were still chit-chatting about Quidditch and Hogwarts in general; she still noticed the whispers and stares of other students becoming louder and more frequent.

"There, look."

"Where?"

"Next to that boy."

"She's blonde?"

"Did you see her face?"

"Looks nothing like Snape."

Meadow blinked and tried to refocus on Terence, however it was difficult. She couldn't seem to drown out the whispers, pointing, and staring.

He noticed and stopped talking, giving her a sympathetic smile. "They'll stop eventually."

"I doubt it," Meadow muttered as she noticed a tall, handsome Hufflepuff's jaw clench and eyes narrow at the sight of her. Her face lit up red, embarrassed about who she was. She turned away and Terence grabbed her shoulder, steering her towards the Great Hall.

"She'll probably be favored." A harsh whisper echoed around the students in the Hall as Meadow and Terence walked in. As she sat down at the Slytherin table to grab some breakfast, the stares continued until they didn't. Apparently, the Snape daughter was no longer interesting while eating; which was perfectly fine by the blonde.

More students filed into the Great Hall for breakfast, and the Heads of Houses soon walked around the tables, handing out the class schedules for the students. Meadow stayed relatively quiet as Terence chatted with a few of the upperclassmen; he would introduce Meadow to them, where a spark of interest laid and excitement for another Snape in Slytherin. Many voiced how Professor Snape should be proud of her to be in his house.

"I don't think he'll favor me," Meadow would respond dully, before focusing again on her oatmeal and orange juice.

When Terence was left alone after catching up, she turned to him. "You don't have to stay with me, you know," Meadow said to him, harshly.

He shrugged, "I know. But so far, I've been enjoying your company."

"Don't you have any second-year friends you should be spending time with?" Meadow challenged.

The boy shrugged again. "Sure, but then who would you talk to?"

Meadow grunted in response, feeling more self-loathing for herself. She took a deep breath, it was only day two here-technically speaking, day one. It didn't matter though, the whispers of other houses were starting to get to her, maybe she didn't belong here, at Hogwarts, after all.

"Meadow," a voice said sternly. She looked up, into her father's black orbs. "Your timetable."

"Thanks," she muttered and took it, looking away from him and glancing it over.

"Higgs," the eldest Snape said, handing out the second year's schedule. "I expect you to be trying out for the Slytherin team this year."

"Yes, Sir," Terence replied, happiness laced in his voice. The Professor moved on, feeling his daughter's glum state, he made a note to pull her aside later.

"History of Magic and Herbology," Meadow said to herself. "I should go gather my things." She looked at the watch upon her wrist, reading a quarter passed seven o'clock.

Terence frowned. "You've still got an hour and forty-five minutes until classes start."

"I told Daphne—" Meadow started to lie but was unable to finish.

Harry walked into the Great Hall, which immediately went silent, staring at him, before the whispers started up again about him.

"Do you see him?"

"He's wearing glasses."

"Did you see his face?"

"Did you see his scar?"

"Wonder if he remembers anything."

Harry, however, did his best to ignore the whispers and stares as he went and sat at the Gryffindor table with Ron and Shane. After they dug into the breakfast, the stares and whispers disbursed into louder, normal chatting.

"On second thought—" Meadow said. "—I'll be right back." She got up from the Slytherin table and made her way over to the Gryffindor table, across from Ron and Harry, and slid her way next to Shane. "Morning you three," she said, trying to be as cheerful as she could, given the circumstances.

"Meadow!" Shane said excitedly and squeezed her hand. "I was wondering if I'd see you today."

"Morning, Meadow," Harry said with a small smile.

"Are you even supposed to be here?" Ron asked, scathingly. "This is the Gryffindor table."

"Oh!" Meadow exclaimed, surprised at the outright aggression from redhead. "I guess, I don't know. . . I just wanted to come say hi, and see if we had any classes together. . ." She hesitated, feeling much more vulnerable than she did a few seconds ago.

"She's fine, Ron," Harry said, gesturing around. "Look—there's other houses at the different tables."

Sure enough, there was a few Ravenclaws over at the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor tables. Gryffindors were over at the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables; and some Hufflepuffs intermixed with the Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, and surprisingly, the Slytherin tables. It was actually wonderful to see the different houses mixing with each other. It gave Meadow hope that she could continue to friendship with the Gryffindors.

Although Ron was reluctant to have Meadow at the table, the four were able to chat about the exciting atmosphere at Hogwarts. Learning about magic, and potions, and flying. They avoided the topics of House points and Professor Snape, which seemed to keep Ron civil with Meadow and vice versa. Once the boys were given their timetables by Professor McGonagall, they compared schedules.

"Looks like we only have Flying lessons and Double Potions together," Meadow said as she looked between her own schedule and Shane's. She looked at her watch again, ten minutes after eight. She really needed to reconnect with Daphne and grab her books from her room. "I've got to get going, the Slytherin common room is all the way on the other side of the castle," which Meadow had no idea if that was true or not, she couldn't remember exactly where it was, just that it was a far walk.

She got up from the Gryffindor table, bidding the boys good luck and walked out of the Great Hall. She wandered over to the Grand Staircase and started to head down, scanning the different staircases she spotted a blonde head she recognized.

"Draco!" Meadow called out and rushed down the remanding stairs to slide next to him.

"Doe," he said sharply, narrowing his grey eyes at her. "Surprised you're here." He continued to walk down the steps.

Taken back by the coolness in his tone, she stuttered, "Wh—what do you mean?" She was surprised he was alone, if she was being honest. Meadow would have thought Crabbe or Goyle or Pansy would have been around him.

"Your friends in Gryffindor seemed to keep you away from your own family," he sneered.

She gasped at him, "That's not true! I was at the Slytherin table for a long time before they came in."

"I don't see why you're wasting your time with them," Draco pushed on, rolling his eyes at her. "They're going to hate you eventually, anyway."

"Draco Lucius Malfoy," She snapped at him. "Quit being so rude." He turned to face her, his brows pulled together in shock and anger. Meadow had her finger pointed at him. "You are _not_ your father. Quit acting like him."

Draco slapped Meadow's hand away and his voice got low, almost a growl. "Quit telling me who I am and who I'm not, Meadow Lilium Snape."

Surprise flashed across Meadow's face, and a rose pink appeared across her cheeks as she let her hand drop from the slap. The two stood still, grey eyes bore into black. "You're right," she said finally, her anger had disapparited. "I'm not here to control you. I'm here because I'm your friend. I'm not a battering post though either, Draco." Meadow said softly. "Say I wasn't sorted into Slytherin. Would you hate me?"

Draco's stony expression turned soft. "Of course not. I'd give you hell for being in a different house," he teased and add more seriously, "but I wouldn't hate you."

"Then don't hate me now for trying to keep my friends that were sorted into other houses," she replied, blinking up at him. "I've known Shane for a very long time as well."

"Shane?" Draco questioned. "As in Shane Lupin?"

"Yes, we went to Muggle school together," Meadow replied. "You know, the one you insulted on the train by calling him scum."

"That boy?" Draco looked at her incredulously. "He looks homeless!"

"Not everyone comes from wealth, Draco," Meadow replied, shaking her head. Sometimes she wondered if he had any common sense to realize that people didn't grow up in mansions like him.

"You're right," Draco said, finally. The two were hot heads, but hot heads that had become friends. "I forget that our norm isn't the same as everyone else."

Meadow gave a grim smile to the boy and they continued their way to the Slytherin common room. However, despite the heavy conversation the two had, Meadow wanted to lighten the mood again. "So. . . How are things with Pansy?" She teased him.

"Oh Merlin's beard, not you too!" Draco exclaimed, groaning.

"You don't want a girlfriend?" She poked his shoulder, giggling.

"Ugh, that girl just won't leave me alone," Draco replied. "That's who I just escaped from when you found me! I was scared you were her!"

Meadow laughed, which echoed slightly around the corridor they had entered. She started gasping for air, and when she would finally catch her breath, she would start laughing all over again. Draco joined in, either realizing how preposterous it was he was running away from a girl or laughing at Meadow's contagious laugh. When the two reached the wall to the common room, Meadow was wiping tears off her face and Draco had a rare smile upon his face, it made him look younger.

-.-.-.

History of Magic was beyond boring, once the group of Slytherins found the classroom. Meadow had high hopes for it as she found history to be intriguing. Looking back at the past and seeing how far the world had come would have been amazing. If only Professor Binns wasn't dead and had his monotone voice that put people into the dead of sleep. Yes, Professor Binns was a ghost; rumor is that he was very old, napping in front of the staff room fire and when he got up to teach, he left his body behind him. The rumor was true. Binns full on admitted it during the first five minutes that he was there to teach them the history of magic, dead or alive, he had a job to do. The ghost professor was one thing, that's for sure, he was dedicated to teaching history in a lame, boring fashion. Meadow shook her head in amazement as the professor got Emeric the Evil and Uric the Oddball mixed up in a brief introduction to the class.

During the lesson, however, Meadow kept her nose in the _A History of Magic_, by Bathilda Bagshot, during the entirety of class and dated the topics in the contents section that Professor Binns had stated they were going to learn about. She jotted down her notes as Professor Binns drowned on and on about the important dates of important history that changed the wizarding world forever. Perhaps Binns hoped that his dull enthusiasm on the subject would become more interesting mentioning specific inventions and hero-like witches and wizards. The reality of the class, however, did not indulge most students, in fact, it put more than half the class to sleep. It probably didn't help that the classroom was extremely hot and stuffy, and the lights were dimly lit. The ones still awake were Meadow, Daphne, Sally-Anne Perks, Sebastian Daley, Gabriel Lithgow, and Blaise Zabini.

When the bell rang, the class looked lively again, jumping out of their seats, throwing their things in their bags, and stodgy classroom. "That must have been one of the lamest first classes ever," Daphne yawned. "I could hardly stay awake."

Meadow nodded, "Most of the class was asleep."

"I definitely passed out," Theodore said, catching up to the two girls and walking on Daphne's other side. "I didn't think a ghost could be so boring."

"Get used to it," Meadow responded dully. "On the downfall, Binns can't even remember specific dates either. I wonder how he'll even grade us. . . it's not like he can pick things up."

The three followed the rest of their class towards the Herbology greenhouses. "Look who finally joined us," a voice laughed from in front of them. "I would have thought she would have joined the Gryffindors given how chummed up she was next to them this morning."

"Parkinson, do you ever shut your mouth?" Daphne called to the girl, who was giggling with Millicent Bulstrode.

Millicent cracked her knuckles as she looked at Daphne, waiting for Parkinson to make the call. "What exactly are you going to do, Milli?" Daphne looked at the bigger girl. "Beat one of your own housemates up? How stupid can you get?"

Parkinson put up a hand and lowered it, Millicent relaxed. "I'd watch out if I were you, Greengrass. Snape's daughter is clearly making you weak."

Daphne burst into laughter. "So weak I have to rely on Milli to beat up anyone I don't agree with," she mocked.

"Weak," Parkinson replied. "She's making you weak. Befriending someone who doesn't want to be a Slytherin—"

"Who said I didn't want to be a Slytherin?" Meadow raged. Day one of classes and Meadow had enough of this girl and her girl gang.

"Aw," Parkinson replied, giving Meadow a sympathetic look. "Little Snape is getting mad," her voice was high pitched and laced with sarcasm. "Better watch out for her Dad," She looked around in faux fear.

"Shut up, Pansy," Draco cut in. "I'm sick of hearing your voice. Merlin's beard."

The group of Slytherins fell quite as they pushed open the door. The sunlight streamed down upon the first years as they walked out of the castle. Meadow took a deep breath in, the smells of the Forbidden Forest wafted over into her nose. Pine and hickory wood were refreshing and comforting to Meadow, as she loved being outside. Meadow relaxed, the scent brought calming and relaxing vibes towards her.

As the Slytherins grew closer to the greenhouses, Parkinson, Millicent, and Tracey were all huddled close together, whispering. Professor Sprout was waiting for them along side her own house's first years.

She was a squat woman, wearing moss green robes and an old, dirty witch's hat. Professor Sprout was smiling warming at the group as they arrived at the classroom area. As Herbology would be taught outside in the greenhouses for the year. Sprout reminded Meadow of a mother-like figure, the way Sprout was built- she had curves and a small, round belly, with rosy cheeks and winkles around her mouth and corner of her eyes. Her crazy and curly hair had large chunks of grey weaved through the mousy brown. Her hazel eyes were also warm and smiling.

"Gather 'round!" She called to the Slytherins and she stepped in front of the Greenhouse door. The Slytherins closed in the gap and settled next to the Hufflepuffs. "Good morning! My name is Professor Sprout, and this is your first year of Herbology! Can anyone tell me what Herbology means?"

A few hands raised hesitantly, Meadow's included. Sprout looked around at the group, she locked eyes with one of the Hufflepuff's, "Yes, Miss. . .?" she paused waiting for the girl to respond.

"Poppy Caxton, Professor," the petite girl with brown, curly hair replied loudly, as though she was confident, however, her brown eyes nervously shifting.

"Miss Caxton, what does Herbology mean?" Professor Sprout said with a smile.

"Herbology is the study of plants," Poppy Caxton replied with a smug, thin-lipped smile upon her face.

Professor Sprout gave her student a nod, "That is half correct, two points to Hufflepuff. Can anyone give me the rest of what Herbology is?"

Meadow's hand raised again, this time she made a point to look directly at Professor Sprout. "Yes?"

"Meadow, Ma'am; Meadow Snape," the blonde said quietly and lowered her hand. Her voice was stronger as she added: "Herbology is the study of magical and mundane plants and fungi, like how Poppy said," she glanced at the Hufflepuff girl, hoping she showed credit were credit was due. "This class will teach us how to care for and utilize plants, as well as learn their magical properties and what they're used for. Such as, Dittany is used for different potions, including the Healing Potion and the Essence of Dittany. . ." she trailed off as she noticed the stares return to her once again.

Meadow probably had said too much, revealing her knowledge on the magical world may be more extensive than other first years. It's not like her father trained her during his summer holidays. . . quite the opposite, actually, he enjoyed his time away from teaching. However, he still enjoyed brewing potions and Meadow's curiosity and thirst for understanding things; well, she learned a lot without being taught.

Most often than not, Severus would buy potions ingredients rather than grow them—this did not stop Meadow from pestering the clerk about how the ingredients were made. She also asked the nurses at Saint Mungo's questions, and Loralai's son, Hippocrates, was more than happy to answer her questions. As Hippocrates found the Janus Thickey Ward quite boring, he relished in conversation where he could show off how much knowledge he held in his little brain. Meadow bit her lip, she shouldn't be mean to Hippocrates, he was a breath of fresh air in the ward, eager to learn, new, and younger.

"Well done, Miss Snape," Professor Sprout replied, her warm smile still upon her face; and it pulled Meadow out from her own thoughts. "Three points to Slytherin for going above and beyond by using an example. Miss Caxton and Miss Snape are perfectly correct: Herbology is the study of magical and mundane plants and fungi. During this next year, especially within the first few months, you all will be learning the basics of plants before jumping into caring for them. You will also be learning a few spells to help out with particularly feisty plants. If you would follow me—"

Professor Sprout lead them into one of the greenhouses, it had a large number one on the side of the door. "This is Greenhouse One, we will be spending most of our time here when we are out working on the plants," she explained. "Most of the plants in here are your basics," she pointed over to the tables that were set up with cactuses and other succulents. "Over there are succulents; there are the fungi and mosses;" she started walking down one of the aisles. "Here are your herbs; your extra equipment that is provided for you is located on this table and extra soil is underneath-for those of you who cannot see."

She led the first years around the greenhouse, letting them take a first look at the plants and then permitting them explore the greenhouse on their own. After ten minutes, she called for their attention again and led them out of the greenhouse and through a door into the castle. She took the first door to the left, it had large windows that let the sunlight illuminate the room. Tables with two chairs each were facing the front of the room, where a chalkboard took up most of the wall. "This is classroom 102, during your first year, classroom time will be the only time you see the other house. During your individual house times is when we will be out in Greenhouse One." She pulled out a rolled piece of parchment from her robe pocket. "I have assigned seats for classroom time. I want you all to be friendly, learn each other's names, and engage in civil inter-house conversations—keep the outside topics to a minimum; this is Herbology after all."

Professor Sprout went to the first desk, looking at the parchment and called out "Millicent Bulstrode and Gwendoline Hedgeflower." The girl Meadow noted as badass and not the stereotypical Hufflepuff walked over, head held high, as she set her stuff down and sat next to Millicent. Millicent tried to take up more than half the table, but Gwendoline was not having it, she sat still and composed, staring down the bigger girl until Millicent reluctantly moved over to her side of the table. As Professor Sprout continued to call out names and seat people Meadow noticed there were two more Hufflepuffs compared to Slytherins. However, Meadow couldn't figure out the pattern the Professor made for sitting the students. Girls were paired up with girls, boys were paired up with boys, but there was also a mixture of girls and boys paired up as well.

"Justin Flinch-Fletchley and Meadow Snape," Sprout called out and Meadow headed over to the table she was at before moving onto the next pair.

She sat down and pulled out her note paper, quill, ink, and textbook, _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_. "Hi," Meadow said quietly to the boy next to her. He seemed nervous as he pulled out his own things and set them on the table. She noticed he had brought a pencil with him in addition to the quill and ink. "Still getting used to using a quill?" she asked, trying to make conversation.

Justin Flinch-Fletchley nodded, a smile on his face, "Yeah. It's hard to use. Figured if I wanted to take notes, I should bring this with me just in case."

Meadow smiled back at him; happy the boy wasn't going to ignore her. "That's really smart," the blonde replied, noticing his dark brown eyes were filled with eagerness. "I should have thought to do that. I have awful handwriting."

"You've heard of pencils?" Justin Flinch-Fletchley asked, and immediately blushed. "Sorry—I just didn't think you would have. . . being from a wizarding family."

Meadow let out a small chuckle, "I actually went to a Muggle school for the last six years."

"You're kidding!" He exclaimed, excited. "You?"

Meadow nodded, happy she wasn't being treated like some foreign object. "Shocking, right?" she winked at him. "My parents thought it would be a good idea for me to do something while dad was away at school. And it gave Ms.—Mom—it gave my mom a break from me as well. I guess I was a bit too wild at home." She almost slipped up again, she almost said Ms. Kashmire—but Meadow wanted to avoid the whole my mom is in St. Mungo's for the rest of her life conversation. Especially with a Hufflepuff. She didn't want sympathy or to be seen more different than she already was.

Justin Flinch-Fletchley laughed, "Even though my parents didn't know I was a wizard, I think they sent me off to school for that reason too."

"Alright class, now that you are all seated and have a partner, I would like you to work with he or she for the remainder of class. On the board you will see the questions you have to work on. Utilize your books as much as you need. The answers you come up with will be turned in at the end of class."

She held out her hand, "Meadow."

Her partner took her hand, "Justin. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," Meadow responded with a smile. "Now," she said, switching her focus to the black board. "Let's knock this assignment out of the pitch, Justin."

By the end of class Meadow was happy she was paired up with the Muggleborn Hufflepuff boy. Thankfully, he didn't seem to care much or really know who Professor Snape was, just yet. Although Meadow was sure the upperclassmen and other magic-family-first years may have told him, he certainly didn't seem to have been bother too much by Meadow's family history after the two opened up more. Meadow secretly hoped Justin would relay onto his classmates that she was actually nice. Of course. . .there was always the possibility that he could spin lies about her.

As she rejoined her Slytherin housemates, Daphne was complaining about how awful of a partner Zacharias Smith was. "—just so rude. He wouldn't let me get a word in and you best believe that our class assignment will be all wrong. I mean honestly, he insisted that he knew all of the answers and didn't want to open up our textbook at all!"

"My partner wasn't too bad; he just talked too much and acted like I was going to curse him with every look towards him," Theodore said rolling his eyes, he had been sat with Ernie MacMillan. "I can't believe Professor Sprout has us mixed. Wouldn't it be better for our houses to be separated for house points?"

"I think it's wonderful how she's got us intermixed," Meadow pipped up and the group of Slytherins looked at her skeptically. "Not only is she teaching us Herbology, but she's also teaching us that each house has unique traits that will help build teamwork between us."

"Speak for yourself," Draco grumbled. "The Hufflepuffs may be hardworking, but most are terrified of us. How is interacting with them supposed to help at all?"

"It should help by eliminating the stereotype of Slytherins are all mean and evil," Meadow retorted. "Unless you all want to keep that image."

"Yes!" Most of the group muttered and groaned. "It's much easier being thought of as terrifying than being nice," Sebastian Daley added. "What's the point at all of being a Slytherin if we don't challenge others? We've been on top of the Qudditch and House Cups for the last how many years in a row? If we show we're soft to the other houses now, they'll never take us seriously."

Meadow rolled her eyes and shook her head, "Alright, alright. You do what you want. I'm not going to stop you."

"Not going to run and tell daddy now, are we?" Parkinson shot at her.

"Wow, real original," Meadow drawled, of course, this was Parkinson's repeated insult to her. "Find a different insult and I might be upset."

Daphne burst out in a laugh, she tried to cover it up with a cough, yet failed. Pansy Parkinson scoffed, "Come on, Millicent, Tracey, and anyone else who doesn't want to be around Snape's daughter; let's go."

The girl with a pug face led a group of the first years that split off from Meadow's group. It was Pansy, Millicent, Tracey, Flora Carrow, Sebastian, Niles Hanley, Blaise, and Crabbe and Goyle. Apparently, the two DDs liked hanging out with Millicent, as the three of them walked close together, laughing slowly about something. And Millicent either didn't want to be around Meadow, or she didn't have brains yet and did what she was told.

The group that was left included, Meadow, Hestia Carrow, Daphne, Sally-Anne Perks, Gabriel Lithgow, Draco, Theodore, and Bhupen Shastri. There were not many Slytherin first years, and the group dividing, made the group look smaller.

"She is. . ." Bhupen said letting out a whistle to finish his sentence.

Daphne groaned and rolled her eyes, "Pansy is always such a brat. Always has been and always will be."

Meadow laughed, "So is this how this year is going to be?" the group of eight started walking towards the library. They had a break before lunch, and Meadow at least wanted to work on organizing her notes. "I didn't realize I'd be such an issue in the Slytherin house."

"It's just Pansy," a girl spoke up, she had sandy-blonde hair and large, thick, square glasses and buck teeth. She had freckles across the bridge of her nose and onto her cheekbones. "She was already complaining about you last night."

"Already?" Meadow smirked.

"Yeah," Sally-Anne pushed up her glasses. "Not about anything in particular, either. Just frustrated because you'll receive special treatment."

"Doubt it," Meadow responded, feeling torn between happy and embarrassed that she had to say that. She was happy that they were talking about her family because she truly believed she will not get nepotism. However embarrassed that it had to be said.

"Why's that?" a boy asked, Gabriel Lithgow. A small and pudgy boy with hazel eyes and pale skin.

"You don't know my dad," Meadow responded, locking eyes with him, a serious expression on her face. And Merlin's beard, did Gabriel find out later that week why Meadow said what she did.

-.-.-.

The rest of the day went rather quickly. After lunch the Slytherins headed to Transfiguration with the Ravenclaws. Once everyone had sat down, Professor McGonagall gave them quite a talking-to: "Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts. Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned."

She transfigured her desk into a pig and then back again. However, starting out smaller, she had them take a bunch of notes that Meadow had to figure out and rewrite later as her scribbling was messy, lines connected specific points to other points further down, and some spots were smudged. The basics of Transfiguration seemed easy: don't play with your wand during the spell, visualize the image you want, keep concentration, and put power behind the spell.

Everyone received homework for that night, an essay on the dangers of transfiguration due by next week. Though, McGonagall warned them not to put it off, as she would be assigning more homework next class period as well. Once the bell rang, the Slytherins and Ravenclaws packed up their bags and headed over to charms together, yet separate.

Professor Flitwick was a tiny wizard who had to stand on a pile of books to see over his desk from atop of his chair. He was the Ravenclaw Head of House and was quite excited to see the Ravenclaws for their first day of class with him. He started out with roll call and hovered over Meadow's name when he got there. But he pushed forward and finished up calling names before diving into the first lesson: What _is_ Charms? And how are charms different than spells?

When the bell rang, Professor Flitwick almost toppled over. "Right then, I'd like everyone to write an essay on what you learned today! Six inches, at least! Due during your individual classroom periods!" For the Slytherins, that meant Wednesday morning.

Trying to find Classroom 67 was the most difficult one to find so far. However, it was also a classroom they'd never need to remember after this year. Magical Theory was a class just for the first years, mostly for the Muggleborn's benefit, to learn and understand how magical works, from a theoretical standpoint. At least, according to the Professor Burbage and the author of _Magical Theory._ Professor Burbage was the newest addition to the Hogwarts teachers, and this was her first-year teaching. She was overjoyed with the position and hoped to give the students a grand understanding of why magic works the way it does and how it is linked to the individual.

Professor Burbage also assigned homework to the first years, however, Magical Theory was only once a week, and Meadow wasn't about to worry about it just yet, as Charms and Transfiguration were much more pressing. Once class was dismissed by the chiming of the bell, the Slytherins headed over to the Great Hall for dinner.

The excitement of the first day being over ran wild over the course of dinner. In Meadow's eyes, she was happy that this dinner wasn't as formal as the feast was yesterday. Students were loud, getting up, chatting with other houses, desert was served along side of dinner, but not as grand as the previous night. Meadow felt relaxed, once again.

Just like Monday starting slow and speeding up, the rest of the week went by in a flash. Tuesdays had the same schedule as Mondays, except instead of Magic Theory, it was replaced with Defense Against the Dark Arts, taught by Professor Quirrell. A bit of a weird man with a large turban around his head which smelt funny. He explained he received the turban from an African Price as a thank-you for getting rid of a troublesome zombie. And his whole classroom smelt of garlic, which everyone said was to ward off a vampire he'd met in Romania and was afraid of coming back to get him one of these days. The class seemed like a joke, unfortunately; and especially to the children of Death Eaters, they weren't really learning anything. . . at least in Meadow's opinion for the first class. She held on hope for the following classes to get better.

The other difference from Monday to Tuesday was the Slytherins had Astronomy at midnight, where they learned about the star names and movements, and planets and their moon(s). Meadow was thankful for the break Wednesday morning, where the Slytherins could sleep in after their late-night class. However, she did take full advantage of the large break between dinner and Astronomy to take a nap and work on homework.

Once the first year Slytherins were up and moving after the lie-in, it was back to Quirrell's weird DADA lectures, this time with the Hufflepuffs, so at least there was another house to embrace the oddness with the Slytherins. After DADA, the Slytherins had Charms without the Ravenclaws; where the group handed in their homework assigned from Monday. Lunch came next, and then History of Magic, which the classroom somehow was even more suffering in the afternoon than it was in the morning. Unsurprisingly, Herbology followed History of Magic. This time, Herbology consisted of just the Slytherins. The only time the Slytherins saw other houses was during the DADA class. And after Herbology, they had a second break for the day before dinner; though, Professor Sprout also told them if needed their break would be used for Herbology depending on the lesson for the day.

Thursday was a completely different schedule from the previous days, as Transfiguration came first with only Slytherins, DADA next with the Hufflepuffs, the first and only potions classroom note-time without making any potions with just the Slytherins again. Lunch followed, with a break, and then starting next week Flying lessons with the Gryffindors. The teachers were moving ahead of introductions and into the basics of each class. McGonagall had asked them to change the matchstick in front of them into a needle. Meadow and a Ravenclaw boy, Terry Boot, were the only two out of the class to make the transfiguration. Both received a "Well done; return it back to a match now." Meadow, surprisingly, was able to do just that. She must have a knack for Transfiguration, as it was one of the things she had never explored before. DADA with Quirrell had become no more interesting than History of Magic, even Gabriel had a difficult time paying attention. And he enjoyed learning.

Apart from finding the classrooms, which was a chore within itself, there were a hundred and forty-two staircases at Hogwarts: wide, sweeping ones; narrow, rickety ones; some that led somewhere different on one day compared to the next; some with a trick step that you had to remember to jump; and some normal. There were also doors that wouldn't open unless you asked politely, or tickled them in exactly the right place, or doors that weren't really doors at all, but solid walls pretending to be a door. Meadow would often find a place to hide and watch forgetful or unknowing students go to turn the knob and slam face-first into the wall. Quite a few times, she had been doubled over with silent laughter, before hurrying off to her next class. All the paths seemed difficult to remember, as everything seemed to move around, however, Meadow relished in the unknowing, loving the challenge of figuring out new paths.

The portraits weren't of help, as they changed from frame to frame to gossip to each other about the latest bit of news about a student, teacher, or other portrait. The ghosts also didn't help. As it was always a nasty shock when one of them glided suddenly through a door one was trying to open. Although, the Bloody Baron, if you saw him, would help by pointing the right direction, if it was a Slytherin. He would stare harshly at any other house student until they squirmed and dashed off. Peeves the poltergeist was an awful spirit to come across if one was running late. He was worth two locked doors and a vanishing step if one was lucky enough to cross his path of destruction. Peeves would drop waste-paper baskets, pelt chalk bits or water balloons, pull rugs out from underneath someone, grab ones' nose and screech, "GOT YOUR CONK!" among other rude and mean pranks. It didn't matter what house you were in or how old you were, Peeves would annihilate one's day. Meadow did notice that Peeves wouldn't prank two redheaded Gryffindor twins, instead, he would swoop close into them; they'd whisper something to him, and off Peeves went, cackling, whooping, and howling. She suspected that Fred and George would feed into Peeves's love for creating ruckus. Though, Meadow didn't really mind, as she loved the contest of darting around Peeves and letting some poor, unknown soul be the next victim for Peeves's tricks. Especially after she had fallen victim for one of Peeves's water balloon wars on Wednesday.

There was one-person Meadow already loathed; the caretaker, Argus Filch. During a brief run-in with Shane, Harry, and Ron, they told her they were lost one day on the third floor. Filch caught them trying to open a locked door, which so happened to be the entrance to be the out-of-bounds corridor. Filch, of course, didn't believe them, and threated to lock them in the dungeons when Professor Quirrell rescued them. Filch had scraggly hair from the sides of his head, he was bald on top. His face had poorly grown facial hair, and his back was hunched over. His eyes were of a yellow color and his skin pale. He threatened the students if they were late or muddy or looked at him the wrong way or looked suspicious. He owned a cat called Mrs. Norris, a scrawny, dust-coloured creature with bulging, lamp-like eyes just like Filch's. She patrolled the corridors alone. Break a rule in front of her, put just one toe out of line, and she'd whisk off for Filch, who'd appear, wheezing, two seconds later. Filch knew the secret passageways of the school better than anyone, except the Weasley twins perhaps, and could pop up as suddenly as any of the ghosts.

If there was anything all the Hogwarts students could agree on, is how much they hated Filch and many had the same dear ambition to give Mrs. Norris a good kick. Even the other pets stayed clear of her; Meadow had once had Bee clamber up her leg and back to be perched upon her head, as far away as possible from Mrs. Norris. Meadow had screamed in protest to her kitten, as Bee had her claws. Later that night, Meadow found blood-crusted scratch marks all up and down her right side. Bee slept at the very end of the bed that night; but once Meadow was awake the next morning, the clever cat had snuck into the crook of Meadows arm, laying with her large, pointed black-tipped ears relaxed and a purr that vibrated on her chest. The blonde rolled her eyes and cuddled with the kitten, forgiving her for the cuts.

As the week drew closer to the end on Friday morning, Meadow was feeling more at ease and hardly noticed the stares and whispers that surrounded her. There were times she noticed them, and her stomach would twist harshly like a knife being shoved into her gut. Nevertheless, she had gotten closer with Daphne, though, it wasn't difficult as Hestia spent her time split between them and her twin, Flora, and Tracey seemed to become another minion of Pansy's. She grew closer to Theodore as well, he was nice enough, though would occasionally say something dark that had Meadow look at him with wide eyes, not knowing what to say back to him.

The three of them tended to be joined by Gabriel and Bhupen when working on homework in the library or hanging out in front of the fireplace in the common room. The two boys were quite fun to be with and they had become fast friends with each other. The group of five had learned that each one preferred to be called by a nickname instead of their full names. Daphne was shorted to Daph, Theodore to Theo, Gabriel to Gabe, Bhupen to Bhu, and Meadow to Doe. Granted, it was always the name Draco called her since he was little because Meadow was hard to pronounce, and since then, it stuck. So Doe was no longer just the nickname Draco gave to her a long time ago, but now a nickname that her new group of friends liked to use with her. It warmed her heart, knowing that there were a few whom were able to oversee her last name.

When the group made it up to the Great Hall for breakfast, they had only just sat down when the mail arrived. About a hundred owls swooped in and delivered packages to their designated people, sometimes those who were owned would come say hi to their person before leaving again. As Meadow leaned forward to grab the sugar spoon a small, tan and white owl landed in front of her, holding out his leg that held a letter attached to it. It looked at her expectedly through his narrowed, yellow eyes and clipped his dark beak at her. Meadow untied the letter, figuring he just wanted to take off again as there was no coin pouch attached to his leg.

Meadow bit her lip, unsure of what to do. However, with the owl still staring at her, she opened the letter.

"_Flower, see me after potions class today. I have an idea I'd like to share with you. Meet your new owl; he's waiting for a name. Dad."_

Meadow's face contorted into a happy and confused expression as she looked up towards the teacher's table. Now she had two pets, and Bee was hardly ever seen apart from at night when she would mew loudly at Meadow to hurry up and get into bed. She was sure having two pets was against school rules. So why did her father let her have another?

"What's up with the bird?" Gabriel asked, his voice muffled slightly as he had a cheek full of porridge.

Meadow shook her head, her eyes briefly met her fathers' as he stared at his students. "He needs a name," she replied. The blonde focused back on the Scops owl. "What to call you. . ." she muttered softly. "What about. . . Switch?"

The owl gave her a disgruntled look and turned his beak away from her. "I don't think he likes that," Daphne teased.

"No, I don't think he did at all," Meadow replied, rolling her eyes. "Chuck? Bongo? Ken? Rigor? Riley! Mat? Toad? Clark? Bradley? Hippopotamus? Elemental?"

His eyes snapped back to Meadow.

"Elemental?" Meadow said shortly. He gave a deep, short whistle. "You seriously want your name to be Elemental?" The owl twitched his little ear tuffs and his feathers bristled. "Okay then. Elemental it is."

He let out a deep coo, dipped his head into her goblet, took a large gulp and then took off again. "That's got to be the strangest name I've ever heard," Theodore said, watching after the owl.

"Beats me, I was starting to make things up just to see if he liked it," Meadow replied and put sugar upon her own porridge. She cut up a banana and added that to the porridge as well. "Bloody mess of a bird. Demanding his own name."

Bhupen snorted into his cup, causing the others to crack up with laughter. Meadow bit the bottom of her lip as she smiled. It was nice to feel like she belonged, despite most of the school disliking  
Slytherins.

"What do have today?" Gabriel asked, his hazel eyes were very green and yellow today.

"Double Potions with the Gryffindors," Meadow responded. It was the class she had most been looking forward too all week. Seeing her Gryffindor friends in class and being able to brew a potion! It was all too exciting.

-.-.-.-


	7. 7 Split Tea

Miracle

"_Double Potions with the Gryffindors," Meadow responded. It was the class she had most been looking forward too all week. Seeing her Gryffindor friends in class and being able to brew a potion! It was all too exciting. _

Chapter Seven: Spilt Tea

"I can't wait to see Snape in action," Theodore smirked, excited for the opposite reason of Meadow. "Upperclassmen say he favors Slytherin; I have been waiting to see Snape rip into the Gryffindors all week."

Meadow paled at this; she always knew her father had a terrible reputation with the students. . . she just didn't want to accept it. And now, she would be forced to, depending on how the older Snape would act at class.

Each step closer, Meadow's heart slowly sunk, and the cool air of the dungeon seeped through her robe, goosebumps formed on her arms. The only form of light were torches that lit up as one would walk closer to them, as no sunlight reached this far under the main level of the castle. Pickled animals and plants floated in glass jars upon shelves that jutted out from the walls. All too soon for Meadow's lack of preparedness, she found herself in the classroom where the potions were made.

"Brown," her father drawled as the bell rang, not waiting for any stragglers and giving them a sharp look if they dared come in.

"Here," Lavender Brown said, she was huddled over close by one of the Patil twins. Nether one dared to whisper to each other as Meadow was sure they had in other classes.

"Bulstrode," he continued, and called each name, making a checkmark on the class register.

"Ah, yes," he said softly, not even looking up as he paused at a name. "Harry Potter. Our new—_celebrity._"

Meadow bit her lip hard to stop her tears from forming; they were right, her father was quite mean to other houses. She saw Draco snigger from behind his hand. He sat by her at the front table, Crabbe and Goyle opposite of them, also trying to hide their glee. Meadow's eyes darted around the classroom most of the Slytherins appeared relaxed; whereas the Gryffindors were on the edges of their seats with petrified looks upon their faces.

Her father pushed on, calling out the next six students rather quickly before he paused again. For the first time he looked up from his parchment and locked eyes with Meadow.

"Meadow," he said quietly, though it was heard by everyone.

"Here," she replied. Tension in the room was as thick as fog. Everyone felt it.

His quill made a scratching noise that was heard throughout the classroom. "Thomas," he called out.

"Present, Sir," Dean Thomas called out.

"Wax."

"Here," a small voice replied. Meadow looked over, it was the girl with rose-gold hair. Meadow racked her brain for the first name. . . Ruby? No, that wasn't it. Rose! With the rose-gold hair. And midnight deep, blue eyes.

"And yet another Weasley," her father said finally, a sneer upon his face. He didn't even wait for Ron to reply as he stood up, whipping out his wand and waving it at the chalk board. The letters upon it had shown the reason for this lesson: they were going to create a simple potion to cure boils. "You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making," his voice harsh, yet barely above a whisper. It was no surprise to Meadow how her father was able to control a group a young students. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmer fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses. . . I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even put a stopper to death—if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

More silence followed his speech, Meadow's lower lip had lowered, quivering; feeling the full power that her father held over them. Her eyes glanced around the room, though, given her spot she hadn't been able to see many, she did see Hermione Granger at the edge of her seat, waiting to prove she was not a dunderhead. Next to her Draco was able to regain control over his silent sniggers, looking both annoyed and alarmed at her father.

"Potter!" the eldest Snape said suddenly, turning on his heel and looking at the boy. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Meadow paled. No one would know this. He hadn't taught them this, and in Herbology they barely started to study basic, common herbs and fungi. Harry looked stumped, as did most of the class apart from Granger, where her hand shot violently up into the air.

"I don't know, sir," Harry replied, his voice even.

"Tut, tut—clearly fame isn't everything," Severus replied, his lip curled up, almost as if he would turn into a beast and rip Harry to shreds. "Let me try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

Granger's hand reached up further still, until she was straining at the height she brought her hand to. Draco was shaking next to her, pleased to see that Harry was talked down to. Crabbe and Goyle were also suppressing their laughter by shivering in their seats.

"I don't know, sir," Harry repeated, although a nerve was struck and Meadow heard a slight angry tone in the word, sir.

"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?" the Professor responded. The room grew full of tension yet again. As Meadow watched the exchange, frozen in her seat, she saw Harry look straight into Severus's eyes. Not a good move, Meadow knew her father would peak into Harry's mind. He did that often, and silently, as long as the person opposite to her father made that eye contact, they would never know. It was one of the reasons Meadow avoided her father's eyes. Of course, Meadow was never told that her father could read minds. It was not a given fact to her; however, she believed her father could read minds.

He still ignored Granger's hand. "What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

Granger stood up, her hand stretched as far and she could and Meadow thought the girl might just stand up on her stood to be noticed. Meadow shook her head, pink rushed up to her face. The feeling of secondhand embarrassment swirled her stomach around. It would do no good trying to get her father's attention like that, he'd just ignore you. However, the way her father was acting had Meadow's stomach twisting for another reason as well, not only was she embarrassed for Granger begging for attention, she was angry with how her father was treating Harry.

"I don't know, sir," Harry said, quietly and politely. "I think Hermione does, though, why don't you try her?"

Meadow pursed her lips together to hide a smile, in the most respectful way ever, Harry had just been snarky. Severus was not pleased.

"Sit down," he snapped at Granger.

"For your information, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite," Meadow stood and rambled off the answers. Hoping to save Harry from her father's wrath. She was not trying to show off her knowledge of potions by any means. However, her father's black, cool eyes snapped to hers. Her face was hot, and she figured it was red as well as she avoided making any eye contact with anyone in the class.

"Meadow you will stay after class for a word with me," He turned to the class. "Well, why aren't you all copying that down?" He veered away from everyone, looking at the chalk board, as there was a sudden rummaging for quills and parchment. Over the noise, Professor Snape said: "One point will be taken from Gryffindor for your cheek, Potter."

He waved his wand and the instructions appeared on the board.

"_Part 1:_

_Add 4 grams of starter liquid._

_Add 6 snake fangs to the mortar._

_Crush into a very fine powder using the pestle._

_Add 4 measures of the crushed fangs into your cauldron._

_Heat the mixture to 250 for 10 seconds—USE YOUR THERMOMETER._

_Add 2 milligrams of dried nettles._

_Wave your wand in a clockwise manor above the cauldron, one time._

_Leave to brew and return in 36 minutes._

"_Part 2:_

_Add 4 horned slugs to your cauldron._

_Take the cauldron OFF the fire before adding 2 porcupine quills to your cauldron. _

_Stir 3 times clockwise, 1 time counter-clockwise, and 2 times clockwise._

_Wave your wand in a clockwise manor above the cauldron, one time._

_Potion is brewed correctly if pink smoke raises from the cauldron."_

Meadow immediately recognized that the instructions on the board varied from the book's, _Magical Drafts and Potions,_ instructions. There were different ways to make this potion depending on the book and author. However, these instructions varied from either recipe that Meadow knew of off the top of her head. Growing up in the Potion master's household with a nanny for the majority of the year. . . well, Meadow was easily able to hide from the older woman while she busied herself over cooking, cleaning, knitting, or whatever else Ms. Kashmire pleased to do.

The class headed over to the student ingredient closet to gather their materials. Meadow pulled out her mortar and pestle, brass scales, and cauldron while the rest of first years hurried over and silently fought over who was first to get their ingredients. Though, once Draco swaggered back to the table, he brought everything the two needed.

"Saw you were setting up, so I figured I'd grab everything," he said to her quietly. "I got the best of what I could."

Meadow raised a pale eyebrow, skeptical he asked politely or accepted when someone grabbed a better-looking snake fang. No, she knew he could walk straight up to the front, grab the ingredients, take whatever he wanted from another student and come back. "Work on weighing the dried nettles, I'll crush the snake fangs," Meadow replied as she took the six fangs from Draco.

She put the first one into the mortar and slowly took the pestle to the fang. The first crack gave as Meadow used pressure in a circular motion to crush the snake fang into a powder. She added the second fang and glanced over at Draco, he had on gloves as he weighed out the dried nettle. She rolled her eyes, the nettle plant has stinging hairs that grows on its leaves—when it's alive, however, with the leaves being dried, the hairs on the leaves tended to fall off during transport. Nevertheless, Meadow noticed the amount of care Draco was putting into weighing the leaves.

She added another fang, making sure it was completely crushed before adding the sixth fang and finely flattened it into small, white and grey fragments. "No!" She shot out as she watched Draco start to bring the two milligrams of dried nettle leaves towards the potion. "The snake fangs go in first," she hissed at him as he brought his arm down.

"Right, forgot," Draco replied, his cheeks coloured pink.

"Do me a favor then, reread the instructions and copy them down," her eyes flashed. Potions was in her blood. She was not about to let her partner mess up her grade or embarrass her in front of her father.

Draco's cheeks grew red, and he was about to retort before deciding it wasn't a good idea. He grabbed his quill and parchment, turned to the board, and wrote down the instructions. As he did this Meadow continued to work on the snake fangs, getting the powder as small and soft as possible. She kept an eye on him so she knew when his quill stopped moving.

"Okay," she said quietly. "The fangs are as ground up as they possibly could be. How many ounces of the starter potion do we need?" She grabbed the scale, bottle, and an empty glass cup. She leveled out the scale with the weight of the glass.

"Four grams," Draco replied.

Meadow nodded and measured it out. She dumped the starter potion into her cauldron, "Please get the first measure of the four measures of snake fang power." Meadow lit the fire underneath the cauldron.

"Can I pour this in?" Draco asked her, he had leveled off the first measure and it looked perfect. As Meadow inspected the powder, making sure there wasn't any clumps or larger pieces.

"Yes, that looks good," she replied. "Make the next three just like that and make sure you're feeling for any larger pieces."

Meadow went and grabbed one of the thermometers from her father's desk. There was one for each group of two, however, he wanted them replaced back on his desk before they started the next section of this potion. Once she got back to the table, Draco was putting in the last measure of snake fang powder. Immediately Meadow raised the heat and put the thermometer into the potion. She watched as the gage grew higher and higher, before it hit 250. When it did, she stopped raising the temperature and looked at her watch.

"Ten. . . nine. . . eight. . . seven. . . six. . . five. . . four. . . three. . . two. . . one. . ." she counted down and removed the heat. "The dried nettle leaves are two milligrams?" she questioned her partner.

"Yes," Draco responded, and Meadow nodded. He added in the leaves one by one. Each leave turned the potion a deeper green.

"Okay, good," She looked at the board for direction on the colour of the potion, however, it wasn't written up there. However, she took her wand and waved it clockwise above her cauldron. It was time to let the potion simmer for thirty-six minutes. She looked at her watch to keep count of how many minutes went by.

When Meadow looked up, she saw that Crabbe and Goyle had been trying to copy her and Draco, however, their potion wasn't as of a deep green, instead it was more of a ruby red.

"What did you do it that?" Meadow asked, stopping the two from putting in their leaves.

"Dunno," Crabbe responded and Meadow went around to their side of the table. As she peered into the cauldron, she saw there was a tip of a fang floating around.

"Did you crush the snake fangs?" she questioned them.

"I thought Goyle did," Crabbe said.

"I thought you did!" Goyle replied, frowning at Crabbe.

"Are you two bloody idiots?" Meadow hissed at them. "Goyle, take your ladle and scoop up the bottom of the potion. Crabbe, grab a sifter." She put the two to work, she didn't know if the potion would come back. As she directed them in gathering the snake fangs through the sifter and adding them back to the pedestal to crush. "How many grams is this?" She pointed to the leaves.

The two shrugged. "Measure. It. Out." Meadow said through gritted teeth. She glanced at her watch; ten minutes went by. Twenty-six minutes left. "Do you two know how to read?" they nodded at her. "Good. Now read the board. How many grams are you supposed to have?"

"Two."

"How many do you have here?"

"Seven."

"Then what do you do?" Meadow replied, her voice sharp. She was trying to have patience, she was trying to not be too harsh, she was trying to be helpful. She took a deep breath, her temper simmered, not as hot as it had been moments earlier.

"Get rid of some leaves?"

"Yes," she replied. "Good job, Crabbe. Now Goyle, how's the crushing going?" Meadow looked over to the other blockhead of a boy. He had destroyed the fangs-and it looked good. The snake fangs weren't chunks, but finally a powder. "Looks good, add it back in. We'll have to deal with what we can and hope that it turns out fine," Meadow said this mostly just to try and scare the two into paying better attention to what they're doing. She knew it would turn out fine. It wouldn't be the best-looking potion out there, but it would do its job as a boil cure.

As she helped the two, they caught up their potion and started their timer. Meadow looked back at her watch. Twelve minutes left. She headed back to her seat to check on the potion. It was still a deep forest green, and bubbles popped on the surface occasionally. It was good for it to rid of the bubbles.

She copied her father's instructions down during the remainder of time she had to waste until her and Draco could start the second part. Enough time had passed for the two to start back up. Draco made a face at the horned slugs, Meadow rolled her eyes at him and took the jar. "Baby," she whispered to him and picked up the first one. She tossed it in, feeling slightly bad as she tossed it to its death. She did the same thing three more times. With each addition to the horned slug, a small cloud of acid green smoke puffed up off the liquid and a loud hissing filled the dungeon. Glancing up at the board to be sure, she put out the fire.

Two porcupine quills later, the potion had mellowed out into a black colour. Meadow grabbed the ladle from behind her cauldron and slowly lowered into the liquid. "Okay, tell me which way and how many times," she breathed. There was a commotion happening towards the Gryffindor area.

"Idiot boy!" snarled Professor Snape. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?"

A boy whimpered and Meadow locked eyes with Draco. "Never mind that. Tell me what do to," she told him.

Draco grabbed his notes, "Three times clockwise." She did that, the potion turned to a purple, each stir lighter than the one before. "One time counter-clockwise—" the potion turned dark blue and Meadow slightly freaked out. "—two times clockwise. That's it."

Meadow took the ladle out of the potion and waved her wand above it one time in a clockwise manor. She chewed her lip as she looked at the color of the potion, however, she didn't need to worry. It turned a neon blue and pink smoke raised above the cauldron. Signifying the potion was complete and brewed correctly.

"Take him to the hospital wing," her father spat out and Meadow looked up from the potion with a smile.

The smile fell off her face as she caught sight of Neville Longbottom. He was soaked with a failed potion and large, angry boils were all over his body. Seamus Finnigan picked Neville up and lead him out of the room. Poor Neville, he can never catch a break, and his grandmother was worried about him at school.

"You – Potter – why didn't you tell him not to add the quills? Thought he'd make you look good if he got it wrong, did you? That's another point you've lost for Gryffindor." The eldest Snape turned on his heel, making his rounds again, sneering at the potions the other first years had made.

During this time, Parkinson had managed to slide over between Draco and Meadow. "Well, well, well. Poor little Longbottom is hurt. Are you going to go nurse him back to health, Snape?" she said quietly as she looked at their potion—pretending to get notes or advice for her own potion.

Meadow's jaw clenched and a muscle twitched with anger. She stared forward, not acknowledging the girl, hoping she would walk away before she snapped. "No response?" Parkinson whined. "Such a disappointment." She nicked a porcupine quill from them and headed back over to where Tracey Davis was waiting for her.

Meadow's eyes snapped over to the DDs. The two had really shaped up after Meadow's intervention with them; the potion was doing well and hissing as they added the horned slugs. Though, they were trying hard to regain composure from Neville's failed potion. "Shape up," she hissed at them. "He's coming this way."

The two immediately cleared their throats and looked at the board, acting like they were trying to figure out what was next. "Oh honestly," Meadow rolled her eyes. "Take the fire off and add the two porcupine quills."

"Well. What do we have here," her father said leaning over the two DDs. Genuine surprise flashed across his face before regaining composure. "Why are you two waiting to add the quills? Too noisy in the Gryffindor's failure to finish your own potion?" He snapped at Crabbe and Goyle, whom jumped into action. Just then, Professor Snape noticed that Meadow and Draco were sitting still, behind a potion that had pink smoke raising. "Let me see here," he said quietly as he walked over to the other side of the table behind Meadow and Draco.

He gave the potion a once over. Took a phial from his robe and dipped it into the potion. Holding the phial up, her father studied it more. "Very well done, Meadow and Draco. This is a satisfactory potion for your first time making it. I expect better by the end of term."

Meadow frowned, the potion was perfect, brewed exactly the way it was supposed to be and did exactly what her father said it should at the conclusion of the potion. Her father walked away.

"Don't worry about it, Doe," Draco whispered to her. "You made a really good potion."

"Good isn't good enough," she replied, her voice laced with hurt. She pulled out her potions books, _Magical Drafts and Potions_ which was shared with Defense Against the Dark Arts, and _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_, a book used in Herbology as well to study from and read. They had a paper due next week on the Cure for Boils that had to be one foot long and explain what the potion is, how it's made, and why it's made. Which, given the name of the potion, it wasn't that hard to explain what it was and why it's made. And after today's lesson, how it was made was an easy write as well.

An hour later the rest of the class was walking out of the room and up the steps towards the Great Hall for lunch. Harry had hung back to let her know that he, Shane, and Ron would be going down to visit with Hagrid after lunch. She told him that she might be able to catch up with him after talking with Snape. A weird feeling creeped over Meadow when she referred to her father as Snape. Something she'd have to get used to though and probably would later on in the term; she knew it would be even weirder to be calling her father, Dad, around the students of Hogwarts. Especially since he wasn't exactly a fan favorite of the students. Harry nodded eagerly, hoping she'd be able to make it to Hagrid's, he really liked Meadow as a friend, despite her being in a notorious House. Meadow, however, finished cleaning up the messes that some left, putting away extra ingredients that people took from the student storage.

"Meadow," her father said as soon as the last student walked out. "Come here." He sat at his desk in front of the class, although Meadow knew that it wasn't the desk her father normally spent most of his time.

Slowly, she walked up to him and a look she'd never seen on his face appeared. Proudness. He held up the phial that held her and Draco's potion. "What?" She asked him, he was clearly disappointed in her performance during class.

He shook it, sparkles of pink swirled around in the small bottle. "This is a perfect potion," he said slowly. "You brewed an extraordinary potion on your first try." Her dad smiled; it was genuine and so, so, so happy.

"Then why did you say it was satisfactory during class?" She questioned him, chewing her lower lip to suppress her hurt. It didn't really work; Severus saw right through her and his face turned sad.

"Oh, Flower," he said softly and conjured a chair up. Meadow took a seat next to him as he leaned forward and put a hand on hers. It was warm and calloused. Patchouli filled Meadow's nose, and the overpowering sweet scent of earth was familiar as it was something Dad always smelt like. "It is not easy being your teacher and your dad." He held up a hand as she opened her mouth to protest. "It's not, and you know it; you will see it more throughout this term and your years here at Hogwarts. I told the class it was a satisfactory potion, because they need to see that I will not favor you for who you are. I expect you to continue to brew extremely well. Your grade in Potions will reflect what I'm tell you now, you are an amazing potions-maker. I cannot tell you during class—does that make sense?"

Meadow nodded, of course that's why he said what he did. For the class to realize that he will be indifferent towards her—her thought was interrupted, "That does not mean you can interject in my class. Do not try and save your friends from embarrassment or from me. I am the professor to this class, and you are a student. Continue to do so I will give you detentions; with Filch."

Her eyes widened. "You wouldn't!"

"I would." He replied, his voice hard once again. "That is not why I had you stay after, however," her dad said, "I figured this would also make it easier on you to stay back. You received my owl."

"Yes. He decided his name was Elemental," Meadow informed him.

Severus blinked, "You have a cat named Bee and an owl named Elemental. Why am I not surprised?" his voice had a light tone to it, as he was teasing her. "To the real reason I asked you here," he added. "To help continue our father-daughter relationship—" Meadow sensed he was uncomfortable talking about this, but she was happy about this. "—I thought you might like to join me for tea on Sundays. You can catch me up on how your week went, I can help you with your homework if you need it, we could go visit Mum if you want—"

He cut off as Meadow started giggling and gave her a look. "I'm—sorry—" she choked out. "You—help—me—do—homework?" She fell into a fit of laughter again. Her father gave her some time to recover. "Yes, that sounds like a good idea. I like the idea of tea on Sundays."

Her father gave her a small smile, relieved that his daughter agreed. He summoned some lunch for the two of them, agreeing that just this week, they'd meet today. Severus was excited to hear about Meadow's first week at Hogwarts. Which she told him all about, how fun transfiguration was, what a joke DADA was, boring History of Magic, the new teacher for Magical Theory, how nice Professor Sprout was despite Meadow not enjoying caring for the plants, her new friends, how thankful she was that she was not roommates with Pansy Parkinson. . . Meadow talked her father's ear off for the next two hours. By the time she glanced at her watch, it was nearly five passed three.

Meadow bid her father goodbye and dashed up the stairs. Happiness oozed off her as she smiled to herself. She felt her wand vibrating in her pocket, echoing her overjoyed mood. Hurrying as fast as she could, she pushed open the large, wood and stone doors, and into the sunlight in the courtyard. She raced across the grounds and stopped in front of Hagrid's cabin door. As she raised her hand to knock, she noticed a crossbow and a pair of galoshes outside the front door. Before she finally knocked, the door swung open and Meadow was attacked by a giant dog with tons of kisses and slobber.

-.-.-.

The black boarhound was pulled off her by a large hand. "Fang, _back!_ Back, Fang!" he said to the dog, "Sorry 'bout that!" a man chimed as he struggled to hold onto the collar.

Meadow laughed and got to her feet. "It's okay!" She shut the door behind her.

"Make yerself at home—the other three just 'rrived," Hagrid said, his large bearded face was smiling, though nervous. "Tea's nearly ready!" He let go of Fang, whom Meadow was ready for this time, and snuggled the pooch. She gave his ears some attention as she looked around the cabin.

There was only one room inside. Hams and pheasants were hanging from the ceiling, a copper kettle was boiling on the open fire and in a corner stood a massive bed with a patchwork quilt over it. There were other bits and bobs hanging around on the walls, a table with large bench seats sat Harry, Shane, and Ron, there was a large, brown shaggy rug on the floor in front of the fire with an oversized chair to one side, facing towards the windows to the grounds.

"Yeh must be Snape's kid, eh?" Hagrid said as he tended to the tea. The boiling water from the fire was poured into a large teapot. "Have a cake."

"Oh, thanks," Meadow replied, but with Hagrid's back turned to the first years Harry shook his head no. "—But I actually just ate. Thank you for the offer, though."

Hagrid didn't seem to notice as he poured five very large cups of tea. Fang soon left Meadow as she sat next to Shane on the bench and put his head over on Harry, drooling all over his robes. The group jumped into telling Hagrid all about their first lessons, though it was mostly Harry and Ron talking with Shane occasionally jumping in and Meadow agreeing or disagreeing with how her lessons went. They were delighted to hear Hagrid call Filch "that old git."

"An' as fer that cat, Mrs. Norris, I'd like ter introduce her to Fang some time. D'yeh know, every time I go up ter the school, she follows me everywhere? Can't get rid of her—Filch puts her up to it." Hagrid said before taking a drink of his tea.

Harry looked at Meadow and locked eyes with hers. "Sorry, Meadow. . . this may seem rude, but potions class was terrible today! Snape really seemed to hate me," he looked at Hagrid.

"Rubbish!" Hagrid replied, shaking his massive head; he was avoiding eye contact with the group. "Why should he?"

"Oh no, he really does seem to," Meadow chimed in. "He was really spiteful today. He didn't even like my potion—'this is a satisfactory potion for your first time making it. I expect better—'" she lowered her voice and rolled her eyes. "And he was so mean to Neville!"

"Longbottom?" Hagrid asked.

Meadow nodded, "He put porcupine quills into the potion before taking the cauldron off the fire. So, of course, it exploded and caused an outbreak of boils on Nev—Longbottom." She caught herself, she wasn't supposed to know Neville that well or really at all. They only knew each other from their parents.

"What did Snape do?"

"Sent him to the hospital wing," Harry replied. "I don't see why he didn't just clear it up himself. . . I'm sure he had a Cure for Boils somewhere."

Meadow shook her head. "He sends most of his healing potions to Madam Pomfrey, she uses them up very quickly."

"She's eh great healer, best fer Hogwarts," Hagrid said with a smile.

Harry, however, had caught sight of a piece of paper, a cutting from the _Daily Prophet_. Meadow watched as he glanced it over. "Hagrid! That Gringotts break-in happened on my birthday! It might've been happening while we were there!"

There was no doubt about it now, Hagrid definitely didn't meet Harry's eyes this time. He grunted and offered him another rock cake. Meadow reached over to read the clipping.

_GRINGOTTS BREAK-IN LATEST_

_Investigations continue into the break-in at Gringotts on 31 July, widely believed to be the work of Dark wizards or witches unknown.  
Gringotts goblins today insisted that nothing had been taken. The vault that was searched had, in fact, been emptied the same day.  
"But we're not telling you what was in there, so keep your noses out if you know what's good for you," said a Gringotts spokesgoblin this afternoon._

"Well that certainly is luck," Meadow said after reading it. "The vault had been emptied that same day the break-in occurred to that specific vault. Whoever emptied it must have known whatever was being stored in there was in danger of being taken."

"Don't yer worry about it," Hagrid grumbled. "Yer got nothin' ter worry about."

Meadow shrugged, "Not worried, just luck."

The subject fell and Hagrid brought up Ron's brother Charlie. Ron talked about how Charlie moved to Romania to take care of dragons. Meadow ended up tuning out and staring out the window, it was getting darker out.

By the time they bid Hagrid a goodbye, it was time for dinner. Rock cakes weighted down their pockets, it took longer to get back up to the castle then it took to come down. "Hagrid acted weird when you brought up Gringotts," Meadow said to Harry.

"It's like he knew something that we didn't," Shane added, his chubby cheeks pink with the nip of the slight cooler temperature from the evening. "He didn't meet your eyes when Mr. Snape—I mean, Professor Snape— was mentioned either," Shane, who knew Meadow's father as Mister his whole life must have some difficulties remembering to call him Professor Snape now. Meadow thought about Draco briefly; her Slytherin friend knew her father as Uncle Severus. Just like Meadow referred to Draco's parents as Aunt Cici and Uncle Lucius, in secret both Draco and Meadow called him Lucius though. But it was never to his face.

"I don't know," Harry replied, deep in thought.

The four entered the Great Hall and Meadow bid the boys a goodnight, she would be spending the rest of the evening with her Slytherin friends.

"Look what the Flobberworm brought in," Pansy Parkinson sneered at Meadow as she sat down at the Slytherin table. A few of the other first years jeered at her. "Looks like we've got ourselves a Slytherin imposter. Why don't you run along now back to the Gryffindors? They'd actually want you, unlike us."

"At least I'm not hard to look at," Meadow replied with a raised eyebrow as she grabbed a plate of dinner. She was not in the mood for Parkinson's insults. "Honestly, don't you have homework to do rather than trying to find ways to insult me? Is that why Snape wasn't pleased with your lousy attempt at the easiest potion ever?"

The group of eleven-year-olds all ooohhhed, and all eyes went back to Parkinson for a comeback. "At least I don't chat with the enemy—"

"The enemy?" Meadow gasped dramatically and put her hand over her heart. "You think Gryffindor is _thee_ enemy? Girl, you have your priorities all screwed up. Now, if you don't mind, I'm trying to eat. Why don't you try again when you have a solid insult? I'm sick of looking at you flabbergasted."

"Excuse me?" Parkinson screeched, her black bob growing messier and frizzy as the girl grew more frustrated. "Me? Flabbergasted? Please. This is my face after looking at you too long. My brain cells are dying out by talking to you."

All eyes flipped back to Meadow as she took a bite a green bean casserole. She had tried to end the conversation peacefully. Well—not exactly peacefully, but in Meadow's defense, she did try to end the conversation with Parkinson. As she chewed, she took another spoon full of the casserole, studying it carefully. The beans were cooked to perfection, they were nice a mushy. The breadcrumbs on top were crunchy and soaking up some of the juices. It was really quite a shame to let it go to waste.

"I told you, I was trying to eat," she snarled out and Meadow flipped her wrist, so it was pointing slightly upward, stuck a finger on the spoon to gain some tension and then—SPLAT.

Green bean casserole hit the target right in her brown, beady eye. A scream echoed around the Great Hall like someone had murdered the girl. "You are so dead. SNAPE!" Parkinson's voice started as a low growl before she shrieked Meadow's name angrily and wiped off the casserole from her face.

Meadow couldn't help but fling another scoop of the chunky soup towards the girl again. This one hit Parkinson in the chest. It felt so wonderful to fight back. Meadow smiled smugly. Victory etched across her face; it didn't matter that she stooped low—so low that she resorted to physical actions rather than words.

"FOOD FIGHT!" a voice shouted from across the hall. She knew it all too well, Fred Weasley.

Suddenly, screams erupted in the Hall, dozens of students dived under tables or ran out of the door, dozens more joined in. Meadow heard the arm swinging through the air, food smacking flesh or hard stone and wood, the cries of being hit and the screams of war. She was among them, giggling and laughing as she pelted others across the hall, dodging and getting splattered with food. As Parkinson made a break for the exit, Meadow lobbed a creation of steak and kidney pie with strawberry jam towards the girl. The ball of food made a SMACK as it hit contact with the back of Parkinson's head, splattering Tracey and Millicent as it entwined in Parkinson's black hair.

Jell-o, shepherd's pie, green bean casserole, mushy peas, jam, and steak and kidney pie filling was thrown around in the room. The shrieks and screams grew louder. Meadow glanced next to her, surprised to see that Daphne was grabbing fistfuls of whatever she could get her hands on, mashing them together, and throwing them like dungbombs. Students were scattering from those lobs of food before coming back with their own attack. Laughter echoed across the hall. Even with all the noise of chaos, there was a louder noise of joy. The four houses were having fun. Together.

Before her very eyes, in slow motion, Meadow watched a huge chuck of food come flying towards her and Daphne.

"Oooohhhh, nooooo!" Theodore's voice rang out, long, deep, and slow. He jumped in front of Daphne, taking the food in the face as he landed and slid across the table. Platters and goblets flying everywhere at Theodore's impact. Food splashed Meadow and Daphne, landing on them like blood on a wall in a horror movie when a murder isn't shown.

Daphne and Meadow locked eyes, both wide with surprise and amusement. The two gave each other a similar serious yet joking look before rushing over to Theodore. Daphne tended to Theodore's "wound", she wiped off the shepherd's pie from his eye. Meadow retaliated against none other than the Weasley twins. Fred and George were grinning ear to ear, sticking their tongues out at her.

"Payback time," she said to herself as she scoped up a large fist of food. As she launched a mash of peas, jam, and jell-o towards the twins, the satisfaction wrote upon her face. However, Meadow grew confused as the food disappeared in midair right before it contacted one of the twins. The students still in the hall looked around confused, they were covered in the remaining bits and pieces, however, the plates were gone.

Meadow looked up at the teacher's table. Professor Dumbledore was stood quietly, his eyes twinkling in the light. "As you have all had your fun, I suggest you all go clean up and stay out of food fights for the rest of the night," he dismissed the remaining students with a humored note laced in his voice.

As Meadow glanced around, there were a lot more people she didn't recognize compared to the ones she did. However, of the ones she did recognize she saw Slytherins: Hestia, Daphne, Theodore, Gabriel and Bhu, Terence, Adrian Pucey, and a few other boys that Terence told her were on the Quidditch team, possibly Cassius Warrington and Miles Bletchley. She didn't recognize any of the Ravenclaws. Of the Hufflepuffs, Meadow only recognized Gwendoline Hedgeflower. She didn't find herself surprised at all when the badass looking Hufflepuff emerged from behind a bench that had been flipped up onto the table. And then the amount of Gryffindors that had stayed behind. . . Seamus Finnigan, Shane, Harry, Jack Sloper—the kid who did even worse at the sorting ceremony than Neville, Dean Thomas, Ron, Fred and George, Kellah Ndiaye and Jessica Jones, two first year Gryffindors Meadow briefly remembered from the sorting, among some other students that Meadow didn't know the names of.

As the students started to head out the door a voice called Meadow back. "Miss Snape, if you could stay back. I'd like to have a word with you," the Headmaster called.

Face burning, Meadow watched as the rest of the students headed out of the door. When the last one, Terence, gave her a look before shutting the door, she turned and headed towards the teacher's table. Where Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape were all seated. A chair was conjured up for her and she sat.

"Please, explain yourself," Dumbledore said quietly. It was worse than being yelled at; she'd rather be yelled at. Of course, her father used this same, even tone with her despite being mad or frustrated with Meadow's antics.

Meadow shifted in her chair, uncomfortable, she didn't want to rat on Parkinson despite the amount of rude remarks and insults the pig-faced girl would throw at Meadow. "Well, Sir. . ." she started trying to stall and figure out a way to cover why she did what she did. However, her lies got stuck in her throat. "Pansy Parkinson started it. She's always so rude to me, calling me a Daddy's girl, a fake Slytherin, telling me to run back with the Gryffindors." She rambled on. "It's literally only been week one and that girl has got it out for me! After the Sorting Ceremony, when the Prefects were all taking us to the common room—she pushed me! Down the stairs! For talking to Draco Malfoy!" Meadow let out a breath, she didn't know if she should feel relieved or not. She didn't feel very relieved. Ratting on another student.

Her father blinked, "She did what?"

"She pushed me the night we got here. She's got major jealousy issues," Meadow replied waving her hands around. "Now, I get it—it's weird to have a Slytherin be friends with Gryffindors and vise versa. But any time Parkinson sees me she is constantly nagging me about becoming a Gryffindor and to go join my real family or house. Which, I was expecting some backlash about the whole _who are your real friends_ thing. But I mean, Merlin's beard, it is not unheard of to have friends outside your house." She put her hands up as if one of the Muggle police officers were going to arrest her, "And I mean, constantly insulting me for even _looking_ at Shane!"

_Okay, settle down there. It has only been a few times that Parkinson has bantered you. Don't become extra._ The voice in Meadow's head said and she stopped talking abruptly.

Dumbledore held up a hand, "We will take care of this—"

"No. Don't." she replied shortly. "I don't want her to know—it'll make it worse."

"Miss Snape, we are here to help you," Professor McGonagall said sharply. "If there is any bullying going on, the teachers have a right to intervene."

Meadow chewed her lip and looked down, embarrassed for her outbreak. "Minerva, if Meadow does not wish for the teachers to step in that is up to her. Now, Meadow," Dumbledore paused until Meadow looked up and into his blue eyes. "This does not mean the professors here won't keep an eye on you—they will be informed of this behavior and do have the right to intervene if they see it happen. As for now, no more food fights. The house elves in the kitchens would be very distraught to see their cooking go to waste again."

"Sorry, Professor," Meadow replied, her cheeks pink. She didn't even think about who created all the wonderful meals the students had been given. "Whom will I serve detention with?"

"Detention?" Dumbledore questioned. "What makes you think I am giving you detention?"

"I attacked a student. . ."

Dumbledore let out a chuckle and Meadow felt small, as if she was a stupid child. "Now, now, Meadow. You defended yourself. Your punishment is: do not start food fights _and_ walk away from Miss Parkinson the next time she says anything to you. And tell Professor Snape here as well. So, he may keep track of the incidences. Does that sound like a fair and just punishment?"

"Yes, Sir," Meadow replied and met his eyes again.

"Goodnight, Meadow," the Headmaster said to her in dismissal.

She thanked the Professors and rushed out of the Great Hall. She headed down to the common room, it was by far the easiest room to find at Hogwarts, as it was one of the rooms that Meadow would consistently go to during the first week of classes. Obviously, as she had to switch her classroom books and sleep there.

Once she got into the common room she was bombarded with questions from Daphne, Theodore, Gabriel, Bhu, and Terence.

"What did Dumbledore want?"

"How much detention you get?"

"Did you get expelled?"

Meadow held up her food covered hands, "I am not expelled. I did not get detention. And Dumbledore only wanted to know why I started the food fight and had me promise not to start another one."

"That's all?" Terence questioned; his eyes huge with shock. "We thought you'd be packing up and leaving on the train tonight!"

"I did too," Meadow said quietly.

"As crazy as it is, those are some of the lamest consequences I've heard," Bhu said.

Meadow cracked a smile, "Right. No detention or anything. Just 'No more food fights.' Come on, you all reek like food."

The group wandered up the steps to their dormitories, Daphne and Meadow splitting off from the boys. Thankfully, the two did not run into Parkinson and her little crew, of course, there was Tracey to look out for in their own dormitory. Meadow couldn't get a good read on Tracey, at night when the four were chatting about their days and the latest gossip, Tracey would occasionally through in that she was sick of Pansy talking negatively about everyone. But, then Tracey would go and hang out with Pansy throughout the day.

Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer? Meadow could only hypothesize about why Tracey said and acted differently. It was a rather touchy subject to bring up as Daphne would lightly call Tracey out on it and Tracey would become defensive and go to bed angry.

But Tracey also was absent from the room. On Hestia's bed, she and Flora were there whispering to each other. The two stopped once the door was opened and the twins looked up green eyes peering from behind their long, black hair. Hestia opened her mouth as though she was going to say something, but Flora hit her leg. Hestia glared at her twin before glancing back at Daphne and Meadow.

"Hey, Hestia, Flora," Meadow said, trying to relax the mood. It was tense in here, or was that just Meadow?

"Hi, Meadow," Hestia responded with a smile. Flora didn't say anything.

Shifting on their feet, Meadow and Daphne grabbed their shower gear and clothes. They headed to the bathroom to clean up; bidding the twins a goodnight.

"That was strange," Daphne whispered to Meadow as they got into the bathroom. There was no need to whisper, as the communal bathroom was deserted.

"Well… they are a bit weird together," she replied. "Hestia seems more relaxed when Flora isn't around."

Daphne agreed and the two stepped into their own shower areas. Meadow kicked off her shoes and took off her socks, jam squished between her toes. As she stripped off, chucks of food splattered to the floor. She turned the tap on and looked down at her naked body. Food had been stuck to her in places she didn't understand how it even got there. She stepped under the stream of water. Meadow let the hot water run through her food covered hair and down her back.

She scrubbed her hair and body off, freeing herself from the food fight. As guilt ate away at her stomach, Meadow couldn't shake the feeling of satisfaction when that first scoop of green bean casserole splattered on Parkinson. Once Meadow got out of the shower, she heard Daphne's water still running. Her food covered clothes had disappeared, clearly one of the house elves had come and picked them up for washing during her shower. Wrapping herself in a towel, she dried off and changed into her night clothes. Plaid shorts and an old, oversized t-shirt had Meadow ready to climb into her bed and under her covers.

-.-.-.

During the next week, Quidditch was the only thing anyone could talk about. Flying lessons started on Thursday with the Gryffindors; although, Harry had told Meadow that he wasn't looking forward to it nearly as much as he wanted to because of learning how to fly with Draco around. The two constantly bickered and threw insults around to each other. Harry's sense of confidence plummeted whenever Draco was in the room. As much as Draco was able to get under Harry's skin with his insults, Harry got under Draco's skin too. There was really no reason that Draco hated Harry so much—if you forget about the whole train ride where Harry refused to dump Shane and Ron to be friends with Draco. But that was a whole other situation.

Flying lessons, however, had everyone talking about flying. Draco would tell anyone who would listen that he once escaped from Muggles in helicopters by speeding away on his broom. Theodore claimed he was born on a broom and spent most of his life on one. Sebastian Daley, the "cool" guy of the Slytherin first years, even had a story about he can perform eight loops in a row-whatever that meant, Meadow had no idea; but it sounded outrageous. Daphne even was bragging about how much she loved to fly and how fun it was. Of course, Meadow couldn't help but lie that she too had ridden a broom before. It was one thing she didn't feel bad about stretching the truth a bit. She had been allowed to ride a toy broom before, however, those came with restrictions and rules that couldn't be broken.

Salley-Anne Perks, the weird girl who nobody really enjoyed being around had been sent a copy of _Quidditch through the Ages_ after sending a letter home asking for tips for her first flying lesson. Meadow asked to borrow it, where she read it all in one night under the light of the stars. There were ten chapters: One- The Evolution of the Flying Broomstick; Two- Ancient Broom Games; Three- The Game from Queerdish March; Four- The Arrival of the Golden Snitch; Five- Anti-Muggle Precautions; Six- Changes in Quidditch since the Fourteenth Century, where the Quidditch Pitch, the three balls, the Quaffle, the Bludger, and the Golden Snitch, the players, the Keeper, the Beaters, the Chasers, and the Seeker, the rules, fouls, and referees were covered; Seven- Quidditch Teams of Britain and Ireland; Eight- The Spread of Quidditch Worldwide; Nine- The Development of the Racing Broom; Ten- Quidditch Today. But Meadow didn't care much for how Quidditch came about or how the Wizarding world kept it secret. Meadow reread chapter six over and over that night.

When she woke up the next morning the book fell on the floor, surprisingly shut and not laid open. During yet another morning mail delivery, Draco received another package of sweets from his mother. Which he opened gleefully and shared his goodies to those closest to him- though it didn't matter too much, as no matter who Draco chose to be by, Parkinson would always shove her way closest to him. It was something Meadow very much wanted to call the girl out on; however, following the food fight, Meadow made a promise to her father about not provoking the girl. And clearly, he also had a talk with Parkinson as well, despite this, the girl would still throw disgusted looks towards Meadow every time she'd talk.

Meadow looked over at the Gryffindor table, her longing to be with Shane and laugh with him had been long overdue. Remembering her lunch conversations with Shane in grade school, laughing about the devilish pranks she had pulled on their teacher, passing notes during class- scaring the pants off Shane most of the time. . . Memories that brought a faint smile to her face. But, Meadow tried to have the Slytherins cool off about Meadow's friendship with the Gryffindors, taking some time away from the Lions. The smile slipped of her face as she thought about the differences between the two houses. Daphne did tell Meadow that it was okay for her to have other friends, and she was allowed to spend time with them. Meadow, however, wasn't sure of how true that was. So, she didn't approach the Gryffindor table since her outburst.

"Oi! Come on," Bhu's voice woke her up from her thoughts. "We've got Transfiguration this morning; you know McGonagall would hate if we're late."

"Right," Meadow replied, blinking alive and getting up from the table.

As she began to walk out of the Hall, she slipped through one of the tables over to the middle aisle. The urge to speak with Shane overtook her. She watched at Draco snatch something from Neville. Harry and Ron jumped to their feet, looking about ready to pummel the Slytherin. Before anything could happen, however, Professor McGonagall turned up; she could spot trouble quicker than any teacher in the school.

"What's going on?" She demanded, looking between the four boys.

"Malfoy's got my Remembrall, Professor," Neville replied, his voice shaking.

Draco scowled and dropped the Remembrall back on the table. "Just looking" he replied and walked away, Crabbe and Goyle tailing.

Professor McGonagall gave Harry and Ron a firm look before walking off as well. When Meadow finally reached the group they were all heated discussing how they'd fight Draco to give him a taste of his own medicine.

"All you have to do is treat him with kindness and he'll just be confused," Meadow laughed as she slid next to Neville. "Rotten luck, Neville. I'm sorry you have to deal with that," she said quietly to him and met his hazel eyes.

"Meadow!" Neville squeaked and put a hand over his heart. "You scared me. I can't believe you were sorted into Slytherin, though—that's rotten luck. I always imagined myself in Hufflepuff, but never you in Slytherin."

Meadow shook her head, "I'm just where I'm supposed to be. I hope that doesn't frighten any of you off." She looked up and meet Shane's milk-chocolate brown orbs. They barely spoke in the last week and a half after visiting Hagrid; she had tried between classes, but with becoming more Slytherin Shane seemed to avoid her.

"As long as you know Malfoy's a dirty git, I think we'll get along just fine," Ron said, a scowl on his face.

Meadow suppressed a smirk, surprisingly, Ron had been doing well at keeping things civil with Meadow. Despite her father's awful mood and deducting points whenever he could. "I know you all hate him—I don't blame you. Hear me out, he's not as bad as he portrays he is," she said. "Draco's got some pressure on him back home. And not befriending Harry really got to him—"

"He's awful!"

"I'd like to smack his smirk right off his face!"

"Everyone has had a rough life, what gives him the right!"

"Oi!" Meadow snapped at the boys protesting. "I am _not_ saying you can't hate him. You have ever right to because of his bad behavior and attitude. All I'm saying is that none of us know what our lives were before Hogwarts or outside of Hogwarts. You can't fully judge someone based on who they are to you."

Harry gave her a knowing look; Meadow finally found the right words that Harry had been feeling all along. The whispers and stares that he had gotten because of his last name—no, because of who he was. The Boy Who Lived. But that's not just who is he, he was more than that—he was a boy who just wanted friends and family; he just wanted to be accepted and loved. Harry realized that Meadow had also been feeling that same pressure. Of the whispers and stares about her. The rumors about who she was, how she came about, and the doubt that Snape was even her father.

"Just take that how you will, I've got to go. I'll see you later at Flying lessons, yeah?" She said to the boys, giving Shane a look and Neville a squeeze on the shoulder.

Meadow left swinging her bag over her shoulder as she headed out of the Great Hall towards Transfiguration. It was hard not to judge someone for who they are. Pansy Parkinson's face swirled in Meadow's head. Maybe she had been too quick to judge the girl. Maybe she did something to her during the feast. Looked at her wrong without knowing it or saying a snotty remark without realizing. Maybe it was time to apologize and try to move forward from this hellish start with the girl.

-.-.-


	8. 8 Taste of Adventure

**I know I said no A/Ns, however, I just had to laugh about my 13-year-old self. I COMPLETELY SKIPPED OVER THE FLYING LESSON AND THE MIDNIGHT DUEL. Well, not completely, in the old version I had Meadow in the hospital wing because she threw up due to a dream—this will **_**not **_**happen, and honestly, it's just ridiculous thinking about it- there's potions for that shit! I just thought it was funny with how I handed Meadow's and Harry's stories crossing—which tended to be horribly done. **

**Onward! **

Miracle

_Meadow left swinging her bag over her shoulder as she headed out of the Great Hall towards Transfiguration. It was hard not to judge someone for who they are. Pansy Parkinson's face swirled in Meadow's head. Maybe she had been too quick to judge the girl. Maybe she did something to her during the feast. Looked at her wrong without knowing it or saying a snotty remark without realizing. Maybe it was time to apologize and try to move forward from this hellish start with the girl. _

Chapter Eight: Taste of Adventure

-.-.-.

The Slytherins arrived at the area for the Flying lessons ten minutes early. It was a bit of a rule that the Slytherin house had: arrive early, stare down the other house, and look as smug as possible—well, not really that last bit, but arriving early and watching the other house arrive was. Something that the upperclassmen had told the first years. It was a way to keep up appearances. The grounds were clear, though a breezy day where the grass rippled under their feet.

Madam Hooch's assistant hurried forward. He split off half the Slytherin group and brought them towards a line of school brooms. He lined up Sebastian, Niles, Gabriel, Bhu, Flora, Hestia, Tracey, and Sally-Anne over on one side. He then brought Crabbe, Goyle, Draco, Theodore, Blaise, Millicent, Daphne, Pansy, and Meadow over to the second group of brooms and lined them up on one side.

Meadow grabbed an end broom, thankfully, Daphne and Pansy switched places. Meadow wasn't ready to talk with the rude girl just yet—she had to be in the right mindset. And walk the idea through Daphne and her father's heads first.

"I'm so excited," Daphne exclaimed to her. "I mean, I've heard awful things about the school brooms, like they vibrate if you fly too high or that they always fly towards one direction more than the other. But it's flying!"

"I thought you said you loved flying?" Meadow questioned.

Daphne rubbed her left wrist with her right thumb. "Yeah. . . about that, I've never actually ridden a broom before—my mother and father forbidden me from it."

"Daphne!" Meadow hissed.

The girl looked up. "You don't understand! My parents—I do love them dearly—but they never let me because I am supposed to be a lady. To uphold the Greengrass family name."

Meadow's eyes widened. "You never told me you were of royal blood."

"That's the thing, I'm not," Daphne whispered. "Well, not by like normal royal means. I'm just a pureblood—but to those who believe the wizarding world should be just pureblood… I would be considered a royal. So I had all of these classes with some lady my mother and father hired. To be prim and proper. Flying is the most scandalous thing I can do!"

"Merlin's beard," Meadow exclaimed as she watched Madam Hooch's assistant split up the Gryffindors into two groups as well. Geoffrey Hooper, Aiden O'Conner, Bem Oladoyinbo, Andrew Owly, Jack Sloper, Nina Chibbar, Natalie Fairbourne, Raza Mohammad, Kellah Ndiaye, and Rose Wax were sent to the side with Gabriel and Bhu. The rest of the Gryffindors, Seamus Finnigan, Neville, Shane, Harry, Dean Thomas, Ron, Lavender Brown, Fay Dunbar, Hermione Granger, Jessica Jones, and Parvati Patil were sent over to Meadow's group.

Madam Hooch arrived, walking briskly towards them with a stern expression upon her face. She had short, grey hair and yellow eyes like a hawk. It was slightly unnerving to see so many people with yellow eyes—even though Meadow had only run across Madam Hooch and Filch with yellow eyes. As an afterthought, Meadow also remembered her mother's eyes. Sadie had bright green eyes with yellow flecks in them. Although, Sadie's bright green eyes were an unusual and rare color as well. Grandma Beckard had green eyes, but they weren't like Sadie's green. Grandma Beckard had forest green eyes, the darkest green Meadow had ever seen and the furthest shade of green from Sadie's bright green.

Shaking her head, Meadow dismissed the thought of green and yellow eyes. She was here to learn how to fly a broom.

"Well, what are you all waiting for?" Madam Hooch barked at the first years, even though the assistant had placed everyone by a broomstick, most had wandered to talk with their friends. "Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up!"

Meadow and Daphne immediately separated and stood by their school brooms. "Stick out your right hand over your broom and say 'UP!'" Madam Hooch called out.

"UP!" everyone in the class shouted.

Meadow's broom jumped three-quarters of the way up and hovered there, she frowned and grabbed it. Clearly something was wrong with these school brooms—they must just be too old. She looked around, Harry had his broom in his hand, as did Draco and Blaise. Granger's had simply rolled over on the ground. Neville's didn't move at all. Sally-Anne's broom quivered on the ground. Daphne's jumped up on the second time.

As Madam Hooch lectured the group on the basics of flying, she went around correcting everyone's stances and grips. "I'm pretty sure I know how to hold a broom," Draco spat out as Madam Hooch grew closer to him. "I've been flying for years."

"For years then you've been flying all wrong," Madam Hooch barked out, establishing that she would not be bullied over by a child. "You hold your broom like this—" she corrected his grip. "—or you will be out of my class and unable to try out for your Quidditch team."

Instead of protesting, Draco's face flashed red with embarrassment. "Yes, Ma'am," he replied quietly. It was not a surprise for Meadow to see Draco immediately drop his hard, shitty attitude once put in his place as a student. Although Madam Hooch did nothing but correct her student, Meadow saw Draco's face flash pale as Madam Hooch bared down upon Draco. She watched as Draco's face remembered his father before pushing it away and focusing on this class again. Meadow made a mental note to try and talk with Draco later. Although, she'd probably forget.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," Madam Hooch said once she was finished correcting everyone and giving them tips. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet and then come straight back down by leaning forwards slightly. On my whistle- three—two—"

Neville pushed off hard before the whistle had touched Madam Hooch's lips, he was nervous and worried about being left on the ground. But Neville had taken off like a cork shot out of a bottle—twelve feet – twenty feet.

"Come back, boy!" Madam Hooch shouted at him.

Meadow's stomach twisted as she watched Neville's broom continued to climb higher and his face grew whiter. Neville looked down at the ground, which was falling away from him, he gasped and slipped slideways off the broom.

WHAM.

Neville landed with a thud and nasty crack as he laid face down, on the grass in a heap. His broomstick was still rising higher and higher. So high it started to drift lazily towards the Forbidden Forest and out of sight. It took Meadow everything in her to stay put as Madam Hooch handled it. She was bending over Neville, her face as white as his.

"Broken wrist," she muttered. "Come on, boy—it's all right, up you get."

Madam Hooch lifted Neville to his feet and had an arm around him. She turned to the class. "None of you are to move while I take this boy to the hospital wing! You leave those brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say 'Quidditch'." Her tongue was harsh as she spoke those words to the first years. "Come on, dear," she said softer to Neville, whom was tear-streaked and clutching his wrist. The two hobbled off the grounds and towards the castle.

No sooner were they out of earshot than Draco burst into laughter. "Did you see his face, the great lump?"

Sebastian, Pansy, Crabbe, Goyle, Millicent, Theodore, Tracey, and Flora all joined in. The rest of the Slytherins shook their heads, it was all fun and games until someone got seriously hurt, and this was not a time to poke fun. There was a clear divide between the two types of Slytherins, although it didn't create any issues between friends, there was that difference between who lacked empathy and who did not.

"Shut up, Malfoy," Parvati Patil snapped.

"Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom?" Parkinson sneered. "Never thought _you'd _like fat little crybabies, Parvati!"

"Seriously?" Meadow muttered to Daphne. "Is this really happening right now?"

Daphne rolled her eyes, "The amount of times I have thought that this term already has been ridiculous."

Draco snatched something out of the grass and held it up. "It's that stupid thing Longbottom's gran sent him!" he laughed as the Remembrall glittered in the sun.

"Give it back, Draco," Meadow said.

"Give that here, Malfoy," said Harry at the same time. Everyone stopped talking to watch.

Draco smiled nastily. "I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to collect—how about—up a tree?"

"Give it _here!_" Harry yelled, but it was pointless. Draco leapt onto his broom and taken off.

"Come and get it, Potter!" Draco taunted as he was hovering along the topmost branches of an oak tree. Draco was a fair flyer, there was no doubt about that he wasn't lying when he said he could fly. Now, flying away from a Muggle helicopter—Meadow still seriously doubted.

"_No!_" Granger shouted, bringing Meadow's attention away from Draco and towards her. "Madam Hooch told us not to move – you'll get us all into trouble!"

But Harry ignored her. He mounted the broom and kicked off hard against the ground. Meadow watched as he flew higher and higher, his robes whipping around him. Harry's flying put Draco's to shame. He made it look so effortless, even as Harry sharply turned his broom to face Draco. Meadow was not the only one who gasped at Harry, although the other girls who screamed and gasped were out of fear than admiration.

"They're going to get us all in trouble!" Granger was saying to anyone who'd listen. "We need to get a teacher."

"Shut _up_ and enjoy this," one of the other Gryffindors snapped at the girl. Meadow believed that it was Fay Dunbar, the girl with a round, chubby face and auburn hair.

Granger glowered at the girl before sprinting off towards the castle.

"Give it here, or I'll knock you off that broom!" Harry's voice carried down to the ground. He looked fierce in the air. Like he had finally got his courage back around Draco. Of course, Meadow's speech from this morning about not judging others went out the potion's closet like boomslang skin.

"Oh, yeah?" Draco replied, trying to sneer, but Meadow caught his worried face. Draco's hard exterior show had a crack in it. There was something Meadow needed to get out of her friend.

It was if Harry knew all along how to fly a broom. He leaned forward and the broom shot towards Draco like a javelin. Draco dodged Harry just in the nick of time.

"Oh shite," Meadow whispered, her heart was pounding in her chest.

The Gryffindors whooped and cheered as Harry scared Draco. Meadow didn't blame them, of course, Draco had been nasty towards the Gryffindors, something most of the upperclassmen Slytherins were proud of.

Meadow couldn't tell what Harry said, but he said something where Draco's retort was: "Catch it if you can, then!" the blonde threw the Remembrall into the sky and then streaked back towards the ground. As Draco landed, Harry speed forward.

"He's going to crash!" screams erupted from some of the girls, both Gryffindor and Slytherin.

Meadow's breath caught as she watched Harry gather more speed towards the ground. A foot from the ground Harry pulled up his broom after catching the glass ball. The Gryffindors burst forth into cheers as Harry held up the Remembrall. Harry straightened up and glided two feet off the ground towards the first years. As he toppled gently onto the grass, Meadow caught slight of Professor McGonagall running towards the group, Granger trailing behind her.

"HARRY POTTER! _Never_—in all my time at Hogwarts—" she was almost speechless with shock and her eyes flashed furiously. "—how _dare _you—could have broken your neck—"

"It wasn't his fault, Professor—"

"Be quiet, Miss Patil—"

"But Malfoy—"

"That's _enough_, Mr. Weasley," her furious glare trained on him and Ron's ears went scarlet. "Potter, follow me, now."

Meadow's heart sank faster than it ever did before. Maybe she could plead with her father, McGonagall, and Dumbledore that Harry was just protecting his friend. That Draco was being an asswipe per usual. She watched Harry disappear into the castle with Professor McGonagall with a heavy heart. Meadow wished more than anything she could follow the two and eavesdrop.

Shortly after, Madam Hooch came bustling out. "Where's Potter?" She scowled, peeved off that the class did not listen to her about not moving.

"Professor McGonagall took him," Draco sneered. "She caught him up on a broom."

"Only because you stole Neville's Remembrall!" Meadow hissed loudly, causing the class and Madam Hooch to snap around and look at her.

"Explain, Snape," Madam Hooch said sharply. Meadow supposed there were some perks of being a professor's daughter—she'd be taken seriously.

"Madam Hooch, after Neville broke his wrist, he dropped his Remembrall. Draco here, decided it would be fun to not return it to the Gryffindors and flew on his broom. Harry followed Draco because he threatened to put it in a tree. Draco then threw the Remembrall and Harry caught it—after a fifty-foot dive, one foot above the ground. Professor McGonagall saw it and took Harry away."

"Mr. Malfoy, is this true? Did you fly your broom?" Madam Hooch snapped at the boy.

"No, Ma'am, she's lying—"

"She's not lying!" Shane yelled, his face splotched white and red from the stress of wanting to speak up verses not wanting to either. "You are! The whole class witnessed it, don't you dare throw Meadow under the bus because you don't want to take responsibility!"

There was an uproar of an argument between the Slytherins and Gryffindors, calling each other liars and fighting over what had happened. Meadow shook her head at the group. The feud between the two houses had Meadow worried about the future. She just hoped that the Gryffindors would see she stood up to her own house for them. And that the Slytherins wouldn't hold it against her for telling the truth.

BANG!

Madam Hooch's wand was pointed straight up and smoke wafted from the tip. "That is enough, out of all of you. Five points with be deducted from both houses. And whoever lied before will get another ten deducted, once I find out why Potter was up in that air. Dismissed. Never in my years here have I seen the outright disrespect as I've seen with you group of first years."

Her words echoed in Meadow's head as she put her head down and walked towards the castle. She didn't wait for Daphne or Theodore. She didn't wait for Gabriel or Bhu. She didn't wait for anyone because she didn't want to get rimed about telling the truth. It would always come out anyway. There was no point in lying about it.

-.-.-.

Meadow hid in her room with the curtains around her bed as she worked on homework the rest of the day. When she had finished with her schoolwork, she pulled out a notebook that she begged her father to buy her. She wrote in it for her mother. How her second week had been going so far, but mostly about the Flying lessons today.

She was ecstatic to see that Harry was still at Hogwarts during dinner time and headed over to chat with the Gryffindors quick, as she had slipped out of the common room without catching the attention of the other first years—they were all complaining about the Flying lesson to some of the upperclassmen who had heard about the commotion.

"Harry! I'm so glad you're here, what happened with McGonagall?" She exclaimed as she clambered next to Shane, smoothing down her skirt as she did so.

Harry grinned, "You can't tell anyone. Promise?"

"Promise," Meadow replied quickly locking eyes with Harry's emerald ones. "Seriously, what happened?"

Harry leaned forward, "I made the Quidditch team."

"You're _joking!_" Meadow gasped, her jaw felt as though it might detach from disbelief.

"I'm not—but really, you can't tell anyone. Wood wants to keep it a secret," Harry replied quietly.

"You must be the youngest player in about—"

"—a century," Harry finished, "Wood told me."

Meadow shook her head astonishment, her blonde, wavy locks whipped around her and hit her in the eye. Meadow flinched back from her own hair, it was up in a ponytail and she forgot that it could be deadly sometimes. "That's amazing, Harry. I'm glad you got rewarded instead of punished—that whole thing wasn't your fault. You were just standing up for Neville."

"That and it was a reason to shove Malfoy down a few notches," Shane muttered, casting a look at Meadow. "I think you did a good job at that too."

"What did you do?" Harry asked, his face dumbfounded.

"She told Madam Hooch what happened on why you disappeared," Ron added. "Bloody amazing. Standing up to your own house. Maybe you should have been a Gryffindor."

Meadow shook her head. She was where she needed to be, where the Sorting hat put her. It didn't stop her from wondering what would have happened if she was a Gryffindor though. But, then she'd never had become friends with Daphne, Theodore, Gabriel, Bhu, Terence, or anyone she enjoyed being with that was a Slytherin. "All I did was tell the truth—"

She caught sight of the Weasley twins hurrying towards them.

"Well done," George said in a low voice before Fred kicked his twin and looked at Meadow. George's eyes engulfed Meadow. Her face grew warm.

"I already know, don't get your knickers in a knot," Meadow said, noticing the interaction. "Trust me, I won't tell. I'd say we should do an unbreakable vow, but it would be a rather silly thing to vow about."

Fred seemed to think this was acceptable answer as he turned to Harry. "We haven't won since Charlie left, but this year's team is going to be brilliant. You must be good, Harry, Wood was almost skipping when he told us."

"He was brilliant," Shane said quietly. "We shouldn't be flattened anymore."

"That's good to hear," George replied to Shane, Meadow wasn't sure if he knew who Shane was or not. It didn't matter as George's attention snapped back to Meadow. "Quite brave of you to start a food fight last week," he grinned. "We've never even done it."

"McGonagall would hang us by our toes," Fred replied, smiling as well.

"I wasn't thinking," Meadow said quickly. "I lost control of my temper—that's all."

"You have a temper?" George winked. "I doubt that. Anyway, we've got to go, Lee Jordan reckons he's found a new secret passageway out of the school."

"Bet it's that one behind the statue of Gregory the Smarmy that we found in our first week. See you," Fred said and the two disappeared out of the Great Hall without eating anything.

No sooner than the twins left did Draco show up with Crabbe and Goyle, "Having a last meal, Potter? When are you getting the train back to the Muggles?"

"You're a lot braver now you're back on the ground and you've got your little friends with you," Harry responded coolly. Meadow ducked her head, hoping that Draco wouldn't notice her there. Thankfully, in the Great Hall, Crabbe and Goyle couldn't do anything but crack their knuckles and scowl.

"I'd take you on any time on my own," Draco sneered. "Tonight, if you want. Wizard's duel. Wands only – no contact." He paused as he looked at Harry's reaction. "What's the matter? Never heard of a wizard's duel before, I suppose?"

"Of course, he had," Ron spoke up, swallowing his Shepard's pie. "I'm his second, who's yours?"

Draco took a second to size up Crabbe and Goyle. "Meadow," he spoke her name and Meadow's eyes widened. She didn't want any part of this. "Midnight all right? We'll meet you in the trophy room, that's always unlocked."

"Draco!" Meadow exclaimed, her face hard. "I am not taking part in your—"

"It's the least you can do, considering you embarrassed _our_ house earlier," Draco spat out. "You _will_ be my second. And by Wizard's dueling laws, you must partake if I die." He leaned forward and whispered in her ear, "Say goodbye and join your house, unless you want it to get worse."

Draco straightened up as colour drained lightly from Meadow's face. "I'll see you tonight," she said to Harry and Ron. "Night, Shane," she put a hand on his shoulder and Shane jerked from her touch. A reaction that hadn't happened in a long time. It hurt, Shane was upset with her, and she had no idea why.

-.-.-.

For the rest of the night, Meadow nervously bit the inside of her lower lip. She didn't want this duel to happen, but there was no stopping it. She saw the look upon Harry's face. It was determination and anger. He and Ron would be showing up to the trophy room, no matter what anyone said about it. Even with most of the Slytherins ignoring her, Daphne climbed up on Meadow's bed just before ten o'clock that night.

"You're worried about something," the tall girl said.

Meadow nodded, "Draco challenged Harry to a Wizard's duel. Ron's Harry's second, and I'm Draco's."

Daphne's ice blue eyes widened, "Doe. . . he's not going."

"What?

"Draco, he's not going," Daphne said. "He was bragging about getting Potter expelled. Tipped off Filch about tonight too."

"You're joking," Meadow responded, incredulously.

She shook her head, her platinum blonde hair flaring around her. "Not at all, if Potter and Weasley have any common sense, they won't leave their dormitories tonight."

"Draco pissed them off too much, they'll be going tonight," Meadow replied, defeated. She couldn't believe herself; she should have known it was just a ploy.

Daphne looked sadly at her friend; Meadow had a good heart. Almost too good of a heart to be placed in Slytherin. But Daphne knew Meadow was cunning and sneaky enough to be a Slytherin, the rest of the first years just didn't see it yet. "Well, you have a few options."

"Barely," Meadow interjected.

"Hear me out," Daphne said, raising a dark eyebrow to silence Meadow. "You can go to a teacher—"

"It's almost ten, I'd be in trouble if I went out!" the youngest Snape protested.

"Maybe," Daphne replied. "There two other options—you can go anyway to tell them to go back to bed, cut them off before the trophy room; Filch will be waiting around there. OR," she said over Meadow's open mouth. "Or, you can go to bed and then have the Gryffindors mad at you because they would assume you were in on the deception as well."

When Daphne finished, Meadow took in the choices. Silence fell between them as Meadow mauled over the three alternatives she had.

"None of those are good options," Meadow said finally. "Clearly, I can not go to a teacher—Harry and Ron would be pissed at me if I ratted them out to accepting a Wizard's Duel. Draco would be pissed at me for throwing him under the train, again. The Slytherins would be pissed at me for putting a stopper to getting the Gryffindors in trouble."

Daphne sighed and nodded; she knew that before she said that option. "Going to warn them isn't exactly the best plan of action either, I'd be avoiding being in trouble myself for being out of bed and if I was caught—detention, house points, and then I'd either have to tell the truth. Which we both know the consequences would also be like before, people would be pissed at me, and I'd probably end up like Sally-Anne where no body wants to be around me. Or I'd have to lie, and keep up that lie to cover myself, Draco, Harry, and Ron. Which might save me from everyone pissed at me, but then I'd have to live with lying and sell that lie."

Again, valid points that Daphne had already thought of, but Meadow saying them out loud made it all the more real. "There is zero chance I will be able to sleep tonight if I don't do anything about it. I'd risk losing my friendship with the Gryffindors—sure, I'd be more accepted into the popular group, but what's the point of losing my friends just so I'd be welcomed more as a Slytherin? If I show everyone that I'd pick my house above my friends, what sort of impression would be upon me? A horrible one. No, that's it, I'll wait and then cut them off. I'll have to warn the Gryffindors."

Meadow didn't notice that she was rambling and slightly talking to herself, but Daphne lent a listening ear. She was good at listening; it must have been apart of her proper lady training she had mentioned during the flying lesson earlier that day.

"So, you warn them," Daphne said, waking Meadow up from her pros and cons speech. "There's no one stopping you."

-.-.-

But Daphne was wrong, fifteen minutes after eleven, Meadow headed downstairs after listening to Tracey and Hestia breath deeply from their slumber. Daphne was awake and bid Meadow a good luck as she slipped out of the dormitory. The Ice Princess, as Daphne had been given the nickname before Hogwarts, had combed Meadow's hair and put it in two French braids as they waited for time to go by. Meadow kept on her pajamas of shorts and an oversized t-shirt, she threw on a pair of black socks and tennis shoes, just in case she needed to run. It wouldn't be practical to wear her thick heeled boots that she normally wore. In addition to practicality, the tennis shoes were quieter than the boots.

Once Meadow slipped out of the girls' dormitories and down the steps she saw the wall out of the common room. As she paused to gather her courage to go through it, her eyes flickered and focused on Draco. He was sitting on the couch, his arms spread across the back and his leg crossed over the other widely, creating the figure four with his legs.

"I knew you'd think I'd actually go," Draco laughed harshly. "Go back to bed, there will be no duel tonight." He stood up, thinking Meadow would listen to him.

She rushed over and jabbed him in the chest with her forefinger, "I already knew you weren't going." She narrowed her eyes at him, "Do you honestly think I'm _that_ dumb?" Of course, she didn't know until Daphne told her an hour earlier, but that was beside the point.

"So why are you awake?" Draco asked, deflecting the question.

"Because I'm going to go warn them of your hatefulness. Honestly, Draco. Lay off them," Meadow growled and turned on her heel marching towards the exist.

"I can't let you do that," the boy responded and grabbed her wrist; Meadow couldn't help but roll her eyes at the cliché saying. "Filch is waiting for them in the trophy room."

Meadow ripped her arm from his grip, "_I know._"

"You're going to lose points for Slytherin," Draco squawked out. "Doe, think about what you're doing. You already lost fifteen points for Slytherin earlier today—do you want to lose more?"

"_I _didn't lose us points. _You_ did," She snarled at him. "_You're _the one who just won't lay off the Gryffindors. _You're_ the one who must terrorize Neville Longbottom. _You're _the one who lied to Madam Hooch. _You're _the one who loses Slytherin points. You are sending two Gryffindors off to a trophy room in hopes of getting them expelled. You're not a Slytherin. You're spiteful. Rude. Disrespectful. Narcissistic. Arrogant." She spewed out before spitting out: "You're nothing but a coward."

Draco drew himself up to his full height, half a foot taller than Meadow, and his grey eyes grew hard. "I am anything but a coward."

"You're not acting like you're not," Meadow retorted. "Now, if you don't mind—"

"I do. You're not leaving," Draco responded, his lip curling up.

"Try me," Meadow dared him.

And dared, he did. Draco stepped between Meadow and the stone wall exit.

"Get _out_ of my way," She snarled at him, her black eyes flashing angrily as she met his cool, grey eyes. Meadow didn't care, her temper had ignited. Her blood was boiling, ears on fire, and cheeks burning with anger.

Draco didn't move, "You know this would get yourself expelled if you get caught."

"Would it?" Meadow countered, "Would being caught out of bed late a night really get me expelled? Detention. Losing points. Those would be appropriate." She tried to step around him and he blocked her path again. "You are testing my patience, _Draco,"_ she snapped at him.

"You don't understand what you are putting at risk," he responded to her, his voice cold.

"You don't understand what you put at risk," she hissed at him, shoving her way passed him, and stormed out of the wall entrance.

As the wall slid shut, the store made a scraping noise and Meadow's footsteps lightly tapped on the ground. "You're making a huge mistake," Draco whispered to her as he caught up to her.

She whipped around on him, "You're the one who got us into this situation. Now leave me alone. Go back to the common room, tuck your tail in-between your legs, and crawl under your covers because that's where you belong."

Draco's face twisted into a raged expression; it was ugly on his pretty face. "Don't come crying to me when you're on that train home tomorrow. I warned you." He disappeared from next to Meadow and she headed further away from the common room entrance. The stone opening rang in her ears, it was loud in the silence of the night.

Meadow crept slowly through the dark corridors, in the dungeons, the only light was from the torches. Thankfully, only one side lit up and the other stayed dark, perhaps due to the portraits that were sleeping would protest the light. She felt along the cool stone towards the Grand Staircase. Once the moon illuminated the interior of the castle the torches stopped lighting up. The further she got away from the Slytherin Common Room the more her anger faded and turned into nervousness. At every turn, Meadow expected to run into Filch, Mrs. Norris, or a teacher, but so far, she had luck with her. She gathered enough courage to race up to the first floor, climbing two stairs at a time.

Upon entering the first floor, she took a short cut behind a large statue of Google Stump. It was one of the most well-known shortcuts of Hogwarts students, however, most didn't know how to open it. Meadow figured it out accidently during her History of Magic paper. She, Daphne, Theodore, Bhu, and Gabriel were sitting in the library together working on their homework. It turned into a nightly tradition for them. Doing homework and trying to keep their voices and laughter down. Despite what each one of them had been taught, Slytherins turned out to be much more complex and friendly than the stories had portrayed.

Meadow found the secret to Google Stump when he had been mentioned as a relative to former Minister for Magic Grogan Stump. Grogan served as Minister from 1811 to 1819 and was a very popular and well-liked minister. Grogan created Being, Beast, and Spirit Divisions of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, and established the Department of Magical Games and Sports. Google and Grogan couldn't be more different. As Grogan was a former, loved and cherished minister, Google was relatively unknown from the Magical world. Google was shy and stuttered; he did not enjoy the company of others. She had used _Hogwarts, A History_ as a reference to the HoH textbook of _A History of Magic_ when they read about past students. Only then did she realize that Google's password would have had to deal with something about wanting to be left alone.

Later that night after the library study session had ended, Meadow slipped away from her Slytherin friends to talk with the statue. He was a quiet statue, either muted by magic or unwilling to talk. But Google would respond with yes or no questions where he only had to shake or nod his head. Meadow eventually figured out the password was Latin for "I want to be alone." Delighted and apologetic, Meadow made her way down to the Slytherin common room.

As Meadow's eyes landed on Google, made of a bronze metal, her head was pulled back into the present. A bronze hoop earring was engraved on one ear; his head was tucked and his eyes were looking down—like they were avoiding eye-contact with anyone. She tapped her wand on his left foot and whispered "_Volo futurus unus_." Google Stump moved his arm from over his chest and directed her towards the wall behind him, which had a slab of wall swing open to reveal the shortcut.

She darted in it and nudged the wall back to close faster. She didn't need the entrance to remain open longer than it needed to be. It would tip any off that there was someone out of bed. She darted through the short cut corridor, not worrying about her feet slapping on the ground. It was almost midnight and she needed to hurry. She sped up as the platform came into sight. Meadow hurtled herself up the wall and grasped the landing by the tips of her fingers. She readjusted her grip and pulled herself up, using her feet against the wall to help her up better. Upon dragging herself up the wall, her breath was heavier and her arms slightly stung. It didn't matter, though, Meadow pushed herself to run towards the edge on the other side. She then jumped from the balcony to the top of a bookcase. Her ribs and diaphragm expanding deeply to keep up with getting enough oxygen in her blood.

She jumped to the second bookcase and then to the other side where the hallway grew narrower and narrower as it let up a small, carpeted staircase. She made sure to catch her breath first Meadow moved the rug to the side and ducked under it so it wouldn't make much movement. She crept towards the trophy room, hoping that Filch hadn't already caught the Gryffindors.

Upon entering the trophy room, the moonlight illuminated the awards. Plates, cups, shields, and statues twinkled silver and gold in the darkness. Harry and Ron weren't there yet, so Meadow hid close to the doorway in the shadows.

Moments later came a shuffle of footsteps, more than two pairs—who in the world did Harry bring? A whole army? When the door opened, Meadow took in the sights of Harry and Ron, looking flustered and on edge, followed by Hermione Granger, her large hair and permanent frown on her face were hard to misplace, and Neville, poor Neville with his broken arm now mended but shivering and sniffling. They hadn't noticed her in the shadows as they surveyed the room.

"He's late, maybe he's chickened out," Ron whispered.

"He set up a plot to get you expelled," Meadow breathed out and Neville yelped into this hand as he clapped it over his face.

Meadow's eyes each trailed on the four Gryffindors, Harry's wand was on her ready for something—they hadn't really learned any dueling spells or blocks yet. Ron had a shocked look upon his freckled face. Granger's eyes were about ready to bulge out of her head and Neville, of course, looked terrified.

"Doe," Harry whispered, her nickname made its way over to the Gryffindors as well, not that Meadow minded.

"You all need to go back to your common room," Meadow whispered urgently. "He told Filch you'd be here tonight. Filch will be here at any moment, I'm sure Mrs. Norris has already caught a whiff of you all."

"If you knew this was a trap, why didn't you say earlier?" Ron demanded; his voice still low.

"I didn't know until an hour ago—"

A noise in the next room made the five jump. "He's here, we need to go," Meadow whispered, barely loud enough for Harry, who was closest to her, to hear.

"Sniff around, my sweet, they might be lurking in a corner."

Filch was here and speaking to Mrs. Norris. Meadow's heart speed up, the adrenaline raced through her veins yet again, surging forward like a terrified unicorn running away from its predator. They scurried towards the second door into the room. One by one as quickly as possible they hurried through the doorway and into the hallway. Neville's robes barely whipped around the corner when they heard Filch enter the trophy room.

"They're in here somewhere," Filch muttered. "Probably hiding."

_This way!_ Harry mouthed to the others, gesturing down a long gallery full of suits of armor. The crept down the gallery, trying to dart through the moonlight and stay hidden in the shadows. As Filch's footsteps grew closer to their escape, Neville let out a frightened squeak and broke into a run—he tripped, and in his panic, grabbed Ron and the pair toppled into a suit of armor.

Meadow watched the suit of armor shatter, the first chuck of armor that split off was the visor as it clanged upon the stone floor. Once that visor hit the ground, the rest of the pieces echoed the loud noise, banging around the hallway. The clashing and clanging were enough to wake the whole school, let alone give away their position to someone right next to them.

Meadow locked eyes with Harry, petrified with horror. "RUN!" Harry yelled and the five of them sprinted down the gallery. Meadow took a peek behind her, Filch burst out of the trophy room looking angrier than ever before. His face was purple, eyes burning yellow, and his whole body was shaking. She tore her eyes away from him as the group swung around the doorpost and through another corridor—and another, they kept turning, hoping to lose track of Filch.

Left. Right. Right. Left. Right. Left. Left. Meadow lost count of the amount of turns they had taken and the doors they burst through. She hadn't dared look behind her again to catch sight of Filch. She just hoped that he wasn't fast enough.

They found themselves in a dead in. "Oh we're done for," Granger whined. "I—told—you," she gasped out at Harry and Ron, looking around at the stone corridor.

"Shut up," Meadow snapped at the girl, she had been feeling the tapestries hung on the wall. As she hit one, her hand didn't hit a wall and Meadow fell forward slightly. "Through here. Hurry!" she growled at the group of Gryffindors and held open the tapestry. Red hair ducked under the tapestry followed by bushy, brown hair, then a blonde bowl-cut, and finally, black, messy hair. Ron, Granger, Neville, and Harry were through the entrance to the short cut. Meadow followed them, lowering the tapestry slowly to not make any ripples or waves in the fabric.

As she replaced it, she held it down so it wouldn't move as much. Hoping that it gave the illusion that they didn't go into it. Once Meadow straightened up her and Harry locked eyes and off the group of five went again. They hurdled through the secret passageway, feet slapping stone rang in Meadow's ears as she tried to keep as quiet as possible. But it was impossible to run silently. She didn't even bother looking around at the secret passageway for anything hidden.

The group came out near the Charms classroom—miles away from the trophy room.

"I think we've lost him," Harry panted and leaned his head against the wall. Ron was whipping the sweat from his forehead. Neville was bent over, wheezing and spluttering. Granger grasped her ribs, breathing heavily. And Meadow, with a stitch in her side was breathing through her diaphragm as she too panted to catch her breath.

"We've got to get back to the Gryffindor Tower, as quickly as possible," Ron said.

"You realize how stupid this whole thing is now?" Granger snapped at the boys. "I told you this was a set up."

"Of course, it was," Meadow snarled. "Why do you all think I came up here? I don't enjoy sneaking around at night." Her black eyes laid upon Granger's brown ones, challenging the girl to say another thing. When she didn't Meadow turn her attention to the two boys, "This is by far pushing your luck, Harry." Hinting that he had just broken a school rule earlier that day with Quidditch. "And Ron, you should have known better—you knew about the Malfoys growing up." She was lecturing them, she knew she shouldn't, but she was so frustrated with Draco setting the whole thing up her temper had risen again and was coming to an explosion.

"We can talk about this more tomorrow," Harry said softly, his eyes tired and his presence calming; Meadow's anger immediately bubbled down and retreated inside her. "We need to get back to bed," he waited for Meadow to acknowledge that and she did with a curt nod.

She turned to split off from the Gryffindors; however, it wasn't that simple. She hadn't gone more than a dozen paces when a doorknob rattled behind her. She turned her head to look at the sound, frightened that Filch had found them when a white wisp flew out and formed into Peeves.

He caught sight of them all and gave a squeal of delight.

"Shut up, Peeves—please—you'll get us thrown out," Harry said to the poltergeist.

Peeves cackled. "Wandering around at midnight, ickle firsties? Tut, tut, tut. Naughty, naughty, you'll get caught."

"Not if you don't give us away, Peeves, please," Granger pleaded with the trickster.

"Should tell Filch, I should," Peeves replied in a saintly voice, clasping his hands together and raising them close to his chest, but his eyes glittered wickedly. "It's for you own good, you know."

"Get out of the way," Ron snapped, taking a swipe at Peeves—which was a huge mistake. The worst one of the night by far.

"STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" Peeves bellowed. "STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!"

A clatter echoed from the way Meadow was supposed to be heading towards to get back to the Slytherin common room. She immediately sprinted towards the Gryffindors, ducking under Peeves, to catch up to the other four.

"This is it!" Meadow heard Ron moan. "We're done for! This is the end!"

"Oh, move over!" Granger snarled, grabbing Harry's wand. "_Alohomora!"_

Just as the door opened, Meadow crashed into the group, sprawling them onto the floor of the room as the door swung shut behind them. Meadow clambered up along side of Harry, pressing their ears to the door.

"Which way did they go, Peeves?" Filch said. "Quick, tell me."

"Say 'please'." The poltergeist pestered.

"Don't mess me about, Peeves, now _where did they go?" _Filch growled.

"Shan't say nothing if you don't say please," Peeves sang-song.

"All right—_please._"

"NOTHING! Ha haaa! Told you I wouldn't say nothing if you didn't say please! Ha ha! Haaaaa!" Peeves whooshed away and Filch started cursing in rage.

As Meadow turned around Harry whispered, "He thinks this door is locked. I think we'll be OK—get _off_, Neville! _What?_"

But Meadow already knew what Neville was tugging on Harry's robes for. The five didn't tumble into a room like Meadow had assumed, instead it was a corridor. The third-floor corridor that had been forbidden to all those who wished not to die a very painful death. Now, Meadow knew why Dumbledore said those specific words. A monstrous dog filled the whole space between ceiling and floor. But that wasn't the scariest part, the dog had three heads. Three pairs of rolling, mad eyes; three noses twitching and quivering in their direction; three drooling mouths, saliva hanging in the slippery ropes from giant, yellow-white fangs. Meadow's stomach was dangerously close to her throat and her mouth became overly dry quickly.

The dog was standing quite still, all six eyes staring at the group of them. Meadow knew that the only reason they hadn't been ripped into pieces is because their appearance took the dog by surprise. However, it was getting over that quite quickly, there was no mistaking what those thunderous growls meant.

Meadow's heart felt as though it had stopped. As she inched backwards towards Harry and the door, she had a glimpse of a wooden door underneath the dog. A trap door. The giant dog with three heads and six eyes was guarding something. Something that the first years never had should have known about. But now they did. Harry fumbled with the doorknob as Ron, Hermione, and Neville were all trying to force their way out of the corridor. Meadow couldn't take her eyes off the giant dog, it was coming closer to them, it's growls growing louder.

A creak of the door and Meadow found herself tumbling backwards out of the corridor and away from the dog. Granger landing on her as Neville went falling next to them, doing a somersault onto the cool stone. Granger popped up, not bothering to offer any help to Meadow, and started sprinting down the corridor. Meadow jumped up, helped Neville up to his feet. Harry and Ron had slammed the door shut. The four shared a look, silently agreeing that they would be splitting away from each other.

Harry, Ron, Neville, and Meadow sprinted after Granger, catching up to her quickly. The girl was book smart, but not very athletic, and Granger was already panting heavily. Meadow wasn't sure if that was due to fear, already being winded, or never catching her breath from before. As they tore passed the Charms classroom, Meadow gave a quick wave and peeled off from the Gryffindors.

She didn't dare to take any short cuts in case Filch was loitering about in one of them, she'd have a better chance and darting down corridors and losing him as the five had before. Peeling through the twists of the corridors, she made her way back to the Grand Staircase. Not caring about if anyone heard her feet slapping on the ground, she rushed down the stairs as fast as she could towards the comfort of the dim dungeons. She ducked into the shadows to conceal herself better now that she was so close.

She was able to catch her breath and crept the rest of the way back to the Slytherin Common Room. Happy and thankful she was nearly there, all in one piece and not caught.

"Salazar," Meadow said to the little stone snake upon the wall and it slid open.

As much as Meadow had ready to rub it in Draco's face that she and the Gryffindors managed to flee Filch twice, she was relieved to see the common room empty. Her braids had become loose in the run and fly-away baby hairs had escaped from the braid. She put her left foot on the first step up to her dormitory and stopped.

She wondered if any of the Gryffindors managed to see the trapdoor under the large dog. She shook her head, obviously Granger would have, there's no doubt about that. But would they talk about after? Meadow felt a pang race through her veins, hating herself for a second for being put into Slytherin. That feeling turned into guilt and regret. She didn't hate being a Slytherin. In fact, quite the opposite, she had good friends here. Daphne was the best. Theodore was a good friend, he said some questioning things sometimes, but Meadow knew going into Slytherin that there would be many who believed it was best to keep the wizarding blood pure. Gabriel and Bhu were great, they were a bit of goofballs. Those two kept things light and happy as Daphne was raised to be a proper lady and Theodore born into a dark family. And Meadow, well, Meadow loved to laugh, but she wasn't nearly as funny as those two.

Meadow reminded herself that there were plenty of good reasons to be in Slytherin, but it was hard on her to not be with the Gryffindors. It would be hard if she was a Gryffindor and had Slytherin friends. No matter what would have happened on that stool with the Sorting Hat, Meadow wouldn't have had it easy keeping the balance of house friends and other friends.

She took a deep breath in and climbed the stairs up to her bed. Her legs feeling like jelly by the time she collapsed on her bed. Before she knew it, Meadow was fast asleep, dreaming about running away from large, dark figures and casting spells towards them—narrowly escaping as Bee trotted next to her.

-.-.-

The next morning, Meadow filled Daphne in on the adventure she had last night, narrowly escaping Filch. But Meadow didn't mention the three-headed-dog to her friend; something told her that it wasn't a good idea to let more people know about it. This time fixing Meadow's hair, Daphne parted her hair off to the side and put in two small braids next to Meadow's left ear, and then a larger, French braid on top of Meadow's head before pulling the rest of her half curled, half wavy blonde hair into a side ponytail with all three braids into the rubber band.

Draco couldn't believe his eyes when he saw Harry and Ron at breakfast the next day, he looked like he was about to hound Meadow for details on what happened, but snapped his mouth shut and turned away from him. Clearly, he was still furious at her from last night. She wouldn't let guilt eat her up, as it was the second fight the two had since the term started two weeks ago. Meadow had just as much of a right to be angry with him as he had allowed jealously to take over his blood. Meadow pretended to not even see him, looking past him and landing on Terence.

The second year gave Meadow a smile and waved her over. "How's the term treating you, Snape?" Terence asked her as she sat down across from him next to another older boy.

She shrugged, trying to be indifferent rather than overly excited or dramatic, "It's good."

"Bullshite," Terence said. "I've heard about your drama with Parkinson. And how your first double potion lesson went."

"Then why'd you ask me if you knew all about it?" Meadow raised an eyebrow, teasing the older boy slightly.

He shrugged, his lips flicked into a half-smile, and Meadow's heart fluttered, "Thought you might want to tell me yourself."

"Seems like you're keeping tabs on me anyway," Meadow smiled back and bit her lower lip, not hiding it like she normally would.

"He is," the boy said from next to her as he sat down. He was tall and muscular, although, everyone was tall compared to Meadow. He had short, black hair that was spiked up in the front with light brown eyes and a bony, crooked nose—probably from getting broken. He was a third year, alongside Adrian Pucey. "Miles Bletchley," he said and held out a hand. "Don't pay too much attention to Higgs, he's just all talk." He winked at the second year; whose face had turned pink.

She took it, pursing her lips together to stop herself from smirking. "Good to know," she replied as she bit the inside of her lower lip, Meadow did so to try and hid her smile that was creeping up her face. However, it didn't work. Her amused smile still appeared.

"Ah, Snape," Adrian Pucey said as he sat down across from her, next to Terence. "Out for a little late-night walk, last night? Glad to see you didn't lose any house points."

"How did you know?" She gasped at him. She didn't even think the older boy knew her, let alone knew she was out last night roaming the castle halls.

Adrian shrugged, "I have my ways of keeping up with what's going on with our Slytherins to keep them out of trouble. You have your ways of staying out of sight."

"Are you sure you didn't go for a late-night walk?" Meadow challenged the third year.

Adrian and Miles chuckled. "Feisty now, are we?" Miles said to her. "Little birds watch your every move, Snape," his voice whispered in her ear. "You just have to be careful. Some of the other Slytherins do not approve of your friendship to The-Boy-Who-Lived."

Meadow blinked in shock. "Are you threatening me?"

"Quite the opposite," Adrian replied lazily as he ripped apart a cinnamon roll and put a chunk into his mouth. "Warning you. Not that anything bad would happen this year, or next year. But possibly the year after that, or after that."

"And you're supposed to protect me?" Meadow asked, dully and rolled her eyes. "I don't need a pair of boys for protection. I can fair just fine by myself."

Adrian held up his hands, "We all know you can protect yourself. Besides," he leaned forward. "No Slytherin would ever be dumb enough to go after you." He popped another ripped piece of cinnamon roll into his mouth as he smirked. "Just talk for now, anyway. As a Snape, I'm sure you'll get used to it."

Meadow's eyes narrowed, and said seriously, "I'd rather not be talked about."

Adrian shrugged.

"Why were you out of bed last night?" Terence asked, an eyebrow raised skeptically at her.

Meadow waved him away and rolled her eyes, "No reason really. I just wanted to see how the castle was at night, when no one was around."

"Bullshite," Terence smirked, teasing her. "It had nothing to do with the fake wizard's duel that Draco was smirking about?"

"Ohhh shut it," Meadow kicked his leg lightly under the table. "You'd never believe how my night went," she added, shaking her head.

"We all have our own adventures we get into here and there," Miles spoke up. He was quiet out of the three, more serious than the other two. "You should join one day, maybe."

Meadow's eyes laid on the husky boy, "Maybe. That depends on the circumstances."

"An adventure," Adrian said very seriously, his hazel eyes glinting, "has no circumstances." He shrugged again, he seemed very laid-back and easy-going. His demeanor expressed that as he threw another chunk of sugary bread into his mouth and chewed it lazily. "But we totally understand if you wouldn't want to come with, of course."

Meadow was torn between feeling happy she was being included in something with the upperclassmen, yet, suspicious since she'd never talked to Adrian and Miles before. It seemed off. But the two didn't seem like the type to get into the stereotypical Slytherin dark arts. "We'll see," she responded lightly. Leaving her response open for a reason. She was too curious to pass up an opportunity to be included.

-.-.-.-


	9. 9 Friendship Heartache

**Hello Lovely Reader! Welcome back to Meadow Snape, the girl of wonder? Anyway, despite it being so early in the series, leave a comment on where you'd like Meadow's love life to lead her! At 11, I won't worry too much about it apart from crushes and the occasional gossip with Daphne. This was one aspect of J.K. Rowling's story, that in my opinion, lacked romance and teenage angst. **

**I do apologize for not updating recently, I was doing quite well with the last few updates being roughly a month apart. I have seasonal depression and unfortunately it bested me this year. **

**Enough with my rambling—enjoy!**

Miracle

_Meadow was torn between feeling happy she was being included in something with the upperclassmen, yet, suspicious since she'd never talked to Adrian and Miles before. It seemed off. But the two didn't seem like the type to get into the stereotypical Slytherin dark arts. "We'll see," she responded lightly. Leaving her response open for a reason. She was too curious to pass up an opportunity to be included. _

Chapter Nine: Friendship Heartache

In the next few days, Quidditch try-outs were held. Meadow went and watched as Terence had officially signed up. And this would be her first glimpse at the terrible Marcus Flinch. As she and Daphne settled themselves into the stands, munching on bread and jam, they chatted about who they thought would do well based on appearances. Of course, Meadow found out that those from the team last year had to retry-out to land a spot on the team again this year.

She recognized Adrian and Miles, the two were talking with their heads bent down and close together; Terence was a little way away from the two older boys, he was pale and nervous. His icy eyes shifting around as his jaw clenched and unclenched before clenching again. There were two boys, both tall and built, dressed in beater clothing with a club in on hand, were goofing off, shoving each other and using the clubs as swords. Meadow suspected that those two were the beaters from last year, as they seemed relaxed compared to the few others who were dressed in beater gear.

As she took a bite of toast, she counted the rest of the people who had gathered for the Slytherin try-outs. Each house had a different evening for try-outs so no one could spy on another house. . . or so Madam Hooch had said, Meadow believed it was so no fights would break out amongst the houses. As Quidditch was a very serious game here at Hogwarts.

Flint walked in, a boy built like a wall of bricks, he was toned and muscular, and tall. His black hair cropped short, and his facial structure was strong with a defined jaw and cheekbones.

"Ohh," Meadow let out unknowing, "I could get on the Flint hype, depending on how terrifying he actually is." He was rather handsome, in a rugged way. As his nose was slightly crooked from playing hard and getting it broken. And then—he smirked. "Just kidding, I just lost any sort of attraction towards him," she added. Flints teeth were awful. He had a chipped tooth, some were crooked, and most looked overly large for his mouth. All his handsome features at first glance looked worse the more you studied his face: his eyebrows were bushy and resting in a furious look, the smirk he had upon his face twisted his face where his nose looked larger than before. It was just an unattractive look. Flint looked more like a troll now.

Daphne burst out laughing, clapping a hand over her mouth as she stifled the noise. Meadow joined in, giggling at her own expensive. Her friend must have known about Flint's appearance. Meadow believed Daphne was related to him somewhere down the line of her lineage. "Yeah, he's a bit of a wreck," she waved a hand to her mouth and giggled again. "I'm pretty sure Sage had told him multiple times that he needed to get his teeth fixed."

"Who's Sage?" Meadow asked as she watched Flint divide the students up into groups.

"She's Flint's twin sister. Much nicer, I'm surprised you haven't been introduced yet," Daphne replied as she licked her lips clean from the jam. She used a napkin to clean her fingers and dapped at the corner of her mouth.

The two fell silent as they watched Flint direct the groups into exercises, Miles, Adrian, and Terence were all split up into different groups. Meadow assumed that it was based on what position each person wanted to play. There were already a few students walking off the pitch. Flint had dismissed them already for one reason or another.

Meadow found a rush that released into her body, the yearning to be out there trying-out for Quidditch, even though she never did fly during that first lesson with the Gryffindors. She imagined it to be wonderful flying in the air without any restrictions—her father took great care in providing wizarding world activities yet concealing them from Muggles. But no matter, Meadow wanted to feel the wind in her air and the excitement of playing the best spot in the world: Quidditch, of course. Alas, first years were not allowed a broom and were hardly ever allowed to play unless extremely talented. Case in point: Harry Potter; ripped away from Flying lessons by Professor McGonagall, who then interrupted Professor Flitwick's class to chat with Oliver Wood, the Gryffindor Captain, and tell him that Gryffindor has a new seeker. It was bloody brilliant for Harry. And a secret to everyone in the school apart from the Gryffindor team and their close friends. Meadow wouldn't tell the Slytherin team about it, as she should be just as clueless as the rest of them. Besides, she didn't see the harm in letting the school find out later with the rest of the Gryffindor house. And it was one more reason for her house to believe she wasn't as close to Harry Potter as it seemed, as long as she acted surprised.

Out of the chasers, it was clear who would be on the team. Flint, obviously, as he was captain and was a chaser. Adrian, he was a chaser last year too and showed his skills off better than the other try-outs. He meshed well with another student, Cassius Warrington. A boy with dirty blonde, short, curly hair, a strong jawline for a third year, and hazel eyes. For the keepers, Miles by far did the best at blocking. Not letting anything go by him.

As for the seekers who were trying out, Terence was the smallest player. This worried Meadow when the students kicked off the ground in a hunt to catch the Snitch before anyone else in the quickest time possible. However, his smaller size weighed into the success that Terence had, he was able to hunt down the snitch and catch it, despite his old broom.

The group had to repeat this exercise four more times, each time Terence was able to get his broom to go a bit faster than the rest of the group of heavier-set flyers. It was clear who Meadow thought should get the Seeker position. She and Daphne cheered each time Terence caught the Snitch. His face lit up the first time as he realized the girls were there for him. He waved at them slightly before turning in attention back to the try-outs.

After the Seeker group went, the try-outs were dismissed as Flint had to choose who he wanted his team to be. Flint was so focused on winning the whole season, even the teammates from last year had to retry. Although the captain was all muscle and very little brains, Meadow thought that it was fair yet harsh that the team would be switched up from the previous year. Granted, if you had someone who sucked on the team last year, it would be best to replace them for the new year. It made sense, but in that same fairness, shouldn't the captain also be replaceable? But that was eleven-year-old Meadow's thought process.

The two girls headed down from the stands. Meadow noticed that Terence didn't wait up for them, and a small pang hit Meadow's chest. Meadow had figured that Terence would wait up for those two, considering Meadow had thought they had a nice friendship going on. Possibly, Meadow thought it was enough for a crush. But she never had a crush before. She didn't know what it was like to really like someone. George Weasley popped into her head though, her heart always raced when she saw him. And the hope of seeing him in the halls between classes rushed in her body, tinging with excitement from seeing him and in disappointment when she didn't see him.

She knew she shouldn't expect anything from Terence, he was a second year after all, and they didn't hang out as much as she did with her friends. It still hurt a bit, however, and Meadow couldn't pin down just why. Daphne noticed Meadow's quietness but opted not to say anything to her about it. Instead,  
Daphne suggested they headed to the common room, where Theodore would be with Gabriel and Bhu. The boys didn't want to go to the Quidditch Pitch for Try-Outs. They said it would just remind them that they weren't allowed to try out until next year.

After watching, Meadow knew exactly how they felt. She wanted to be down there, flying her own broom and racing around, dodging players, and scoring goals. Next year, she'd try out for the position of a Chaser.

-.-.-

In the following days, Meadow and her father met on Sunday, where the two ate cucumber sandwiches and cakes with their tea. She caught Severus up on how her week went, leaving out the part where she snuck out of bed and ran away from Filch with the Gryffindors, not that he wouldn't know, of course. However, he didn't bring it up, and therefore, Meadow did not mention it either. He looked over the essays she already completed and gave her some pointers to rework a few sentences that dragged on too long or were jumbled. It was quite nice, meeting with her dad for a few hours. It was technically less time spent with him each week, but there was something pure about it. As when Severus would visit on weekends, he was constantly grading papers and hardly had quality time for Meadow. This time her father set aside for Meadow, she flourished in. Pleased to be given the extra attention from him that she hadn't had for six years.

When she left her father's office, she headed straight to the library. Where Meadow started to work on the revisions of those papers. The smell of the library was so different yet similar to the smell of her father's office, the earthy scent, yet instead of dirt and mint, it was a smokey scent in the library. Just as she was about to start reading about transfiguration and the ability to transform oneself into an animal, two boys walked by her and stopped shortly as they recognized her. Meadow's eyes widened as Harry and Ron had their mouths opened but a whisper caught in their throat.

Meadow was surprised that the Harry and Ron even knew anything about the library, considering she had never seen them there before. The three talked about the trapped door. Torn between happiness and sadness about the discovery the Gryffindors knew about the door under the monstrous dog. The three agreed that it must be the mysterious object that Harry saw Hagrid take from Gringotts on his birthday. But all they knew about the package was that it was two inches long, and not a clue of what it was otherwise.

"It's either really valuable or really dangerous," Ron said while they sat at a hidden table in the library.

"Or both," Harry replied, his voice lowered to a whisper. It was quite dangerous talking in the library. Madam Pince was always lurking around scolding students for doing anything to her books, kicking others out for sneaking food into the library, and jinxing books for their protection. She also hated people talking, whether it be for studying or not, she despised noise of any sort; and had kicked out people for it, bewitching their books, ink bottles, quills, and parchment to chase after them out of the library.

"What's strange is that it was moved from Gringotts, what is called the safest place in the world for anyone to store their possessions." Meadow added, "Best believe the goblins weren't too happy that whatever it is was removed by Hagrid. . . What did he say about it again? He had to visit Gringotts anyways?"

"Yeah. 'For Dumbledore. Hogwarts business.'" Harry replied as the thought dawned on him. "I wonder if we could get Hagrid to talk to us. . ."

Meadow shook her head, "Bad idea, Harry. It could get him in serious trouble."

With the thought of talking to Hagrid dismissed, she split up from the two. Frowning as she did so, she was hoping to run into Shane with them. However, they told her Shane had been feeling ill and went to the Hospital Wing in the morning. It was towards the end of the month, and Meadow did know that it meant that Shane and his father would usually travel to visit his mother's tombstone. They would every month around the same time, either the third or fourth week of the month. It didn't matter if it was the weekend or in the middle of the week, Remus would pull Shane out of school and they would pack up and leave.

She didn't think the cycle would continue once Shane went to Hogwarts though. Maybe it was time to try and start to see a pattern of when Shane would leave classes, as the rest of the day, Shane didn't turn up to lunch or supper. The following day, Shane still didn't show up, not even for Monday classes. Tuesday came around and still no sign of Shane, Meadow decided it was time for her to make a trip up to the Hospital Wing.

Meadow was becoming nervous about her missing friend, Harry and Ron hadn't see the other Gryffindor boy since Sunday morning, when the two stumbled upon her in the library. Before lunch, Meadow and the rest of the Slytherins had a break. Usually, Meadow would take the time to grab a shower after Herbology with the Hufflepuffs, but she didn't want to waste any time and headed straight to the Hospital Wing.

After getting into the castle she headed to the first floor, down some corridors, and to the large hall before the Wing. Meadow never met Madam Pomfrey yet, it was someone she never wanted to meet. Of course, she didn't know she would be seeing the matron a lot, let alone in two minutes.

Upon entering the hospital wing, through those huge, brass doors, Meadow saw Shane sitting at the edge of one of the white hospital beds. His face was hallowed, and dark circles were under his eyes. The white clothes that were required to be wore in the hospital wing fell off shoulders, as though he lost a lot of weight in a short period of time. Even his usual chubby cheeks seemed deflated.

"Walk," a voice said beside her, a motherly sternness.

Meadow's head whipped around to take in the matron, dressed in white and red robes with a white bonnet upon her head. "Sorry, Madam Pomfrey," the girl rushed out and immediately stopped in her tracks.

"Who are you here to see, Miss. . . ?"

"Snape," Meadow said quietly, before regaining her voice and added, "Here to see Shane Lupin. I heard he wasn't feeling well." The healer gave her a pointed look, clearly questioning why a Slytherin would be meeting a Gryffindor, or so Meadow thought as her cheeks heated up. "Shane's been my best friend since we was little. We went to Muggle school together."

Madam Pomfrey's face was still stern as her blue eyes gazed on Meadow's black ones. "No more than ten minutes. He needs his rest. Do tell Professor Snape, when you see him, that I am in need of some Blood-Replenishing Potion due to the upcoming Quidditch season."

Meadow nodded, accepting the task of letting her father know what the healer needed. Turning on her toes, she hurried over to Shane and knelt on one knee. "Shane?" Meadow said softly.

His brown eyes snapped to hers, though, slightly out of focus he looked like he was seeing through her. "Doe? What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you. You haven't been in class the last few days," she replied, her voice laced with concern. "Harry and Ron said you were feeling ill."

"I'm fine, just a stomach flu or something," Shane said and shook his head at her. "I'm fine, just tired."

"You look like just skin and bones. . ." Meadow said slowly, looking her friend over more, noticing the full lankiness of her friend. He was normally skinny, but his hospital clothes seemed to be looser than ever.

"I can't keep anything down," Shane shrugged. "Really, I'm fine. I'll be back tomorrow. Madam Pomfrey just wants me to stay one more night."

Meadow blinked at his shortness. "I'm sure Madam Pomfrey can give you a stomach soother. Have you asked?"

"Of course, she's given me everything I have needed," his eyes flashed with annoyance.

"Are you feeling ill about missing your dad?" Meadow asked softly.

Shane shook his head, "No it's not that. Although, it would be nice to see him now." He sighed.

"And your mother…?" she asked, even quieter.

"I don't see how this has to do with my mum at all," Shane replied, his eyes narrow and voice harsh.

Meadow frowned. "You and Remus always go to visit her every month. You stayed out of school for about three days like you will this time. I just didn't know if it's because you'd normally be there by now. . ."

"Ohhh," Shane exclaimed, like he had forgot about the monthly routine of visiting his mother's grave. "I forgot about that. No, no. Really, Doe," his voice shook. "It's nothing. Just don't feel well."

"Did you have any homework brought to you?" She changed the topic, despite Shane's dismissive tone.

"Madam Pomfrey went and collected everything already for me," Shane replied, voice still shuffling in pitch. "I'm tired," he added and leaned back into the bed. "Thanks for stopping by, Meadow, but I'm going to take a nap."

Meadow frowned as she looked at her friend. Usually Shane was much livelier than he currently was. He seemed too tired to be anxious about schoolwork, which was unlike him. "Okay. . ." she said sadly and got up. "If you need anything. . ."

"I know, I'll let you know. But Madam Pomfrey has me all taken care of," Shane's eyes fixed upon a window across from them. The sun that was once shining brightly had been covered by rain clouds. "Go and enjoy some fresh air. Remember how you'd always come find me to sit outside before a storm?"

"Yes, but that was just because I like the smell of the rain and earth. It always smells much sweet right before a storm," Meadow replied, smiling over the memories of their young childhood.

_The hot summer sun pelted Meadow's neck as she played outside. She was pretending a normal, old stick was a wand and she was practicing her dueling stances as she made up words to spells she didn't know. _

"_Impetus! Bullarum! Glacies crepito! Obstructionum!"_ _She shrieked out, bubbles of giggling upon her lips as she shouted out random words and sounds, waving the stick around and pointing it at a particular clump of long grass. She rolled out of the way and pointed the stick back at the clump of grass. Her right arm held out the stick and her left arm was shoulder height and bent for balance. _

_That clump of grass was no normal grass for Meadow; no, it was a bandit. A scoundrel. A thief. A man with pitch black, short hair, and glowing red eyes with pale skin. Except, you couldn't see any of this as he had black robes around him with the hood up, just barely able to see the black, gold, and red mask underneath, covering up his face. _

"_I'll never back down!" Meadow shouted at the man, jutting forward and poking the stick towards him. A blue light shot out from her wand. But the man was too quick, he magicked the spell away without breaking a sweat. _

"_Hy-Ya!" Meadow panted out as she shot spell after spell at the man, who deflected them with no problem, until he was behind on one, and now the man was stumbling backwards trying to dodge and protect himself. _

_Sweat trickled down Meadow's temple. "Is that all you've got? You don't want to attack? Coward!" She shouted at him. _

_If there was one lesson Meadow learned that day, it was never to call a man a coward. . . unless one was truly trying to patronize that person into a fight. As now it was Meadow's turn to deflect and shield herself from the oncoming spells the man was throwing at her. As she dodged, rolled, and threw messy shields up to protect herself from the man, she started to pant. _

_Finally, she was able to roll out of the way from a red curse and cast her own that hit the man directly in the chest. The shot sent the man flying backward. Meadow grew closer to the man, breathing heavy as her wand was trained on him. "Any last words?" _

"_You'll regret this," the man spat out and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. _

_Meadow shook her head, the bloody cheat. Even as an eight-year-old, Meadow's wish for the wizarding world and hunting bad guys was evident. Of course, that drive to rid the world of evil did stem from her mother's accident. Upon accepting defeat from the man, Meadow threw herself down on the ground, looking up at the sky, catching her ragged breath. _

_The air had changed from her run-in with the man/clump of grass. It grew sweet and thick. Meadow jumped up, forgetting her wand/stick, and raced towards home. "Going to Shane's!" she shouted quickly at Ms. Kashmire, as she grabbed her deep, forest green raincoat and an old, brown, worn bag from the front entrance. _

_She raced out of the house before the old woman could yell at her to stop. Meadow quickened her feet to as fast as they could carry her over to the next three blocks over. A place where no one wanted to live, and no place for a child to grow up in. The houses all were run down and either abandoned or in ruins. The cobblestone street hadn't been kept up and bits of the stone were either missing, out of place, or jutted out of the earth in a twisted direction. Random garbage, appliances, and furniture were out on the street corners for those who wanted the garbagemen to pick it up, give away for free, or just out of the houses. The whole block seemed to be under a gray spell. But it didn't matter to Meadow, she didn't care what clothes Shane had nor how old and rundown the Lupins' home looked. They were kind people. Welcoming and homely. The sky was growing darker, and a soft rumble of thunder was heard in the distance. _

_A small splatter of cool water smoked Meadow right in the center of her forehead. Pushing faster still, Meadow turned the block and headed towards Shane's house. Panting, running short of breath, her cheeks red with blood, her sides and arms growing tired and worn, she arrived at the Lupins. _

"_I was wonderin' when you'd turn up!" Shane called to her from the porch. The wood was falling apart, splinters stuck up and the left side had completely collapsed from rotted wood. The people before Shane and Remus hadn't treated the house with respect and love. And Remus, well, he had a hard time keeping jobs because of his obsessive need to visit the tomb of his late wife. Meadow assumed the grief of becoming a widow so young consumed Remus into funny rituals and certain obsessiveness, such as, they are not allowed in the basement no matter what, Remus's constant state of worry as he looked around rooms over and over again. Little things that Meadow didn't find any issue with, because losing someone makes people do funny things. _

_Even when the person is still alive, but not a part of daily life. It feels like a loss. Meadow felt like she understood why Remus was the way he was, despite Shane's apologizes and embarrassment over his father. Meadow knew how it felt to lose someone. She felt as though a normal childhood had been taken from her- mother permanently in the hospital and father gone for months at a time, while she was left in the care of a wretched, old woman—well, that wasn't necessarily true, Ms. Kashmire was a nice lady, just very strict and always finding more and more ways for Meadow do chores as a way of punishment. Recently, the eight-year-old had been sent to the potions ingredient closest to dust off and organize the bottles and jars by size. _

"_Well I'm here now!" Meadow said to Shane as she drew close. "You ready?" _

"_As ready as I'll ever be," Shane replied, a small shake in his voice. He was nervous, no surprise there, but this time he was nervous about the upcoming storm. Shane was never a huge fan of thunderstorms. Nonetheless, the excitement that rolled off Meadow seeped into Shane's pores and pumped through his blood gave him enough courage to venture out with the girl. _

_The water falling from the somewhat sunny sky had turned into a light sprinkle. There were still sun streams in the atmosphere, and the two children headed off towards the backyard. The two arrived at a small tree house Remus had put together for Shane (and Meadow). The old wood had been treated and sanded down to perfection so they wouldn't get any splinters from it. It wasn't much, it was almost like a large doghouse with huge windows. The outside looked worn and disheveled, with the different types of wood and coloring of the wood. The windows were of all different sizes and sometimes crooked. There was no door, just a large multicolored curtain that hung on an old shower rod. But the inside. . . the inside was amazing, had more room than one would think. There was space for a small, worn brown couch, with two massive, soft beanbag chairs a maroon color on one side. On the other was a table with three chairs around it, a bookshelf next to it with all sorts of board games. There were a few lanterns with candles hanging around, so they didn't have to worry about any electric hook-ups or disturbing anyone with annoyingly bright lights at night. _

_Meadow threw her bag down and pulled out a bowl and lid. She had a habit of storing rainwater for her father to use in potions. And she was intrigued that rainwater had healing properties all on its own. Granted, this could all be played off as a child's imagination. She pulled out five more mason jars of different sizes, all with lids, and all for a variety of different rain types. She opened all of them up and had a marker to label the tops of which rain was caught in the containers. _

"General."_ She wrote on top of the big bowl's lid. Shane went and put the bowl in the open area before the club house. "Looks good!" Meadow called to him and he hurried under the roof, not that the rain had picked up yet. It was still sprinkling, just a bit harder now. _

_The sweet scent of the earth filled Meadow's nostrils as she and Shane plopped down and watched out the door frame. She had pulled the curtain aside, not that it mattered much, as the windows let in a bunch of light. On the backside, it was almost the whole wall that was a window. But the door let a nice breeze of fresh air into the club house. Too nice to pass up. _

_Meadow leaned her head on Shane's shoulder, looking up at the funny weather. Mostly bright, sunny sky with rain falling. A sure sign that this would be one wild summer storm. Her father wasn't home yet, the staff had to say an extra week to close their offices and Hogwarts. Safety inspections occurred with the Ministry of Magic, any last-minute parents wanting to meet with the teachers, and of course, the staff all celebrated together by going down to The Three Broomsticks and share a few rounds. It was fine, it didn't hurt Meadow much, not this year. She had grown used to the Muggle school schedule, having Ms. Kashmire watch after her every day, and seeing her father during weekends and on breaks. She really leaned on Shane for support, and Remus too. The two Lupins were just as much of her family as her father was. _

"_How'd ya know it was gonna rain?" Shane asked her, relaxing his head upon hers and resting a hand on her elbow. _

"_The ground," Meadow replied. "I've told you before, when you start to smell that earthy scent, it'll rain. It's gonna storm today, though." _

"_Why's that?" he asked. "Oh wait," he teased her. "The air!" _

"_It is the air!" she exclaimed with a smile. Meadow knew that Shane's sarcastic comment was all in good fun. _

_A rumble of thunder grew closer and suddenly the sky darkened. Meadow grabbed a medium sized mason jar, uncapped it and brought it out in the rain. It was a fairly decent strain now. Water pitter-platted on the wood roof and splattered harshly on the hood of Meadow's raincoat. _

_Dark clouds came rushing over the little town, thunder started to grow closer, and the lightning, while, was seen in the clouds flashing angrily. Just as Meadow was about to set the jar down, thinking it would take a few minutes for the next phase of the storm to hit, it started downpouring. _

_Shrieks and yells echoed between Meadow and Shane. Meadow covered the one mason jar she had in her hand as Shane brought out two more. Swearing like a sailor with how harsh the rain started to pour. Meadow capped the first mason jar, labeling it _"RAIN." _As the next two would be labeled as_ "POURING."_ Two mason jars left, one was the smallest and the other was the biggest. Meadow hoped she would catch a lot of the storm water. It was supposed to be the best cleansing water of all the rainfall. Of course, it is completely possible that it was just a myth, but still, it was something the girl truly wanted to believe in. _

_The next few moments were chaos as Meadow quickly scribbled on the labels for the two mason jars Shane was holding. One was already overflowing. The panic and adrenaline that set in increased by five as the thunder came roaring over them. The flashes of lightning grew closer, with bolts touching trees and posts. Meadow grabbed the last two jars and hurried out, ushering Shane back into the club house. Meadow held her hands up high, they were in the center of the storm now. _

_As she stood, in the sheets of rain that pounded down on her, Meadow's arms started to grow tired. She made the decision to set the large jar down on the grass, next to the bowl that had clearly overflowed by ten times now. She brought the little jar in and sealed it up, marking it "_STORM."

_Just as the two started to enjoy the show, a loud roar of thunder rang through their ears, shaking the ground, and a huge lightning strike was encompassed in the remaining mason jar. _

"_BLOODY HELL!" The two screamed together in shock, disbelief, and surprise by the closeness of the storm. _

_Shakily, Meadow grabbed a pair of oven mitts from her bag, shoved them over her soaking hands, and went out to the jar. She noticed flicks of yellow appear in the water. The sheets of rain were still hitting her harshly, but she couldn't let the water go to waste. Especially now, with a lightning bolt kissed water. Gathering all her strength together, Meadow picked up the jar and rushed back to the club house. Quickly sealing the jar and putting a lightning bolt on it. _

"_What was that." Shane demanded. _

_But all Meadow could do was shake her head, she didn't know what had happened or how. All she knew was that somehow, her plain old, Muggle mason jar just caught a lightning bolt. _

Despite the terrifying end of that memory, it was one of the best ones she had of storm watching with Shane. The storm came out of nowhere, latest the shortest of the summer before pouring for five days later. Once it had stopped raining, the bowl that Meadow and Shane set up was a mucky brown. Nevertheless, Meadow still capped it up and took it back to her house, only to be stored in the basement cooling room until her father came home. The bottled lightning was for another time to remember upon.

"You sure you don't want me to stay? We could storm watch together?" Meadow asked him, hopeful and hesitant.

Shane shook his head, "Go enjoy that storm air." He turned to face her. "I know you love that smell."

A sad smile crossed Meadow's face, "I'll see you later then. . ."

Eyes on the verge of tears, Meadow watched the smooth, seamless floor pass her feet as she walked out of the hospital wing, defeated. She knew he was mad at her about the Wizard's Duel, but he never let her explain. He dodged her in the corridors and avoided her during breaks and mealtimes. As she wandered the halls, trying to figure out what to do with the rest of her lunch break, as her appetite had disappeared, she unknowingly caught the attention of two mischievous Gryffindors. She chewed her lip as she looked out of a castle window.

It was gloomy out, not a pretty look for a storm. The visit with her mother came to mind, it too was an ugly storm. It was not the first time it had happened with Sadie, nor would it be the last. Meadow took a deep breath in and sank against the wall, looking out the opposite window into the abyss of misty water and mountains that surrounded the castle. Unaware of the twins watching her with wondering eyes.

George whispered something to Fred and the oldest twin headed off as the youngest took a seat next to Meadow. "Rough day?" He asked softly and Meadow flinched.

"Oh!" She gasped. "I didn't even notice you."

George smiled at her, "Didn't mean to frighten you."

"You really ought to work on your introductions," Meadow replied, teasing him as she masked her sadness. She wiped her tears away quickly with the back of her hand. "You're without your other half?"

"We aren't always together," he replied softly, studying her face. "You seem troubled."

"It's. . . it's nothing really," Meadow responded, her face flashed into a saddened expression before a forced smile rested yet again. "Just a bit of a rough time with classes today."

"You came from the hospital wing," George called her out on her bullshite. He raised a hand up, "If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine."

"Why do you even care?" Meadow asked, a whine laced her voice as she tried to sound annoyed—it didn't work. She fidgeted with her school skirt, the black skirt had creases in it with overlapping material, it was long, though, Meadow found out that most upperclassmen had taken to cutting off a few inches for the skirt to be more flattering. She didn't care about it, however, the uniform wasn't exactly a work of art.

George shrugged, "Figured you had enough people hating on you recently you could use an ear." He leaned forward and wiggled his ear.

Meadow stifled a laugh, "So what sort of prank are you and Fred coming up with today?"

"Who said I'm not Fred?" The Weasley twin replied, looking aghast. "How dare you call me George."

She pursed her lips together, shaking her head, and rolled her eyes. "I think I'd be able to tell you two apart. Besides, George was the one who does need a warning label on his forehead telling people he's dangerously awful at greeting others," Meadow's voice was light as she teased him about the night on the train, where he fell into her and clucked heads together.

"It was an accident!" He exclaimed.

"See, knew it was you, George," Meadow smirked.

"Alright, well you caught me," He replied, smiling at her. "So, what's really on your mind? You look blue."

Meadow's smirk faltered. "Just Shane. He's in the hospital wing. That's why I was there."

"Lupin?" George asked and she nodded. "Heard he was a bit ill. Been there since Sunday, I'm surprised Madam Pomfrey hasn't released him yet."

"Said tomorrow he'll be out," Meadow replied. "I just worry about him. He's not exactly the best at. . . making friends. . ."

"He's alright," George replied, confused. "Him, Harry, and Ron all get on like a gnome in a garden."

"Don't gnomes _destroy_ gardens?"

"Aye, but that don't mean gnomes don't love gardens," George replied with a shrug. "What I mean to say, is Lupin seems to have made friends just fine so far. He's just sick, no need to worry so much." He knocked his shoulders on hers before looking out of the window at the storm brewing.

Meadow studied the boy, his cheeks and nose were splattered with freckles, his jaw starting to become defined under the baby fat on his face, his eyebrows were a bit darker than his ginger hair, and his eyes. His eyes were of a blue color, with hints of orange in them. She found her face and body heating up, so hot that she had to slip off her robe to cool down. "It'll be a nasty storm tonight," Meadow said suddenly as she pulled her eyes off George. She sank into the cool floor and wall, trying her best to not overheat; she didn't want him to know she was staring at him.

"What makes you say that?" The Gryffindor asked.

"The color of the sky," Meadow replied her eyes on the gross greenish-blue sky, before pointing to the forest, "The trees bent by the wind."

The bell rang, signaling that lunch was over, and Meadow hadn't got the chance to eat anything. Pulling her robe back over her shoulders, George stood up and offered her a hand. She took it, noticing that her face flushed with the physical contact. "Thanks," she said and looked into his eyes.

"My pleasure," the Gryffindor responded, his cheeks pink as well.

As Meadow picked up her bag, she grabbed his wrist as he stood, awkwardly. "No, really, thank you. For sitting with me."

"Looked as though you needed some company," George brushed her off with a small smile. "Best be off, wouldn't want to be late for class."

"Right, see you," Meadow replied and headed towards Transfiguration. She'd be with the Ravenclaws for the next two hours. After Transfiguration, the Slytherins and Ravenclaws had Charms together.

During class, she couldn't stop thinking about George Weasley. How kind he was, despite how much trouble he and Fred get into with their tricks and pranks. She also couldn't understand why anyone would show her that sort of kindness due to her last name. Especially one of the Weasleys. Granted, Ron wasn't too bad. Not yet, at least. But it was only the second week of term. A lot could change in a month. And yes, it did storm quite nastily that night.

-.-.-.


	10. 10 Halloween Horrors

Miracle

_During class, she couldn't stop thinking about George Weasley. How kind he was, despite how much trouble he and Fred get into with their tricks and pranks. She couldn't understand why anyone would show her that sort of kindness due to her last name. Especially one of the Weasleys. Granted, Ron wasn't too bad. Not yet, at least. But it was only the second week of term. A lot could change in a month. And yes, it did storm quite nastily that night. _

Chapter 10: Halloween Horrors

A lot did change in a month. As the term started to pick up speed in the year, Meadow soon realized that it was towards the end of October. Her notebook was filling up, detailing her days and thoughts; questions that came about which some had been answered during classes, homework, or tea with her father. Some questions she wanted to ask her mother exclusively. Meadow and Daphne had grown almost inseparable. The two fast friends were seen walking the halls, sitting together during class when possible, the library working on schoolwork, and the common room holed up in the corner behind the girls' staircase. Usually, the girls were joined by Theodore, but if he wasn't around them, he was with Gabriel and Bhu off somewhere. The three boys joined the two girls during the times they were studying; Meadow was the go-to girl for potions help. She didn't mind at all. Potions was one thing that Meadow excelled in and found to be relatively easy. She also had an easy time in Transfiguration as well, due to her burning interest in the subject. Meadow liked that her friends would come to her for help. In fact, it worked out quite well, as Bhu found herbology to be his talent. Gabriel loved charms, Daphne was the best at Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Theodore. . . well, Theo wasn't terrible at anything, he was by no means an amazing student, but he was an overall good student and friend. The group did well together in their studying and homework. As each one would lend a hand during times another was struggling.

During the times Meadow and Daphne weren't together, Meadow was seen with Shane, Harry, and Ron. Shane and Meadow were back on speaking terms. Shane gave her mixed readings of him, one moment he would be wary of her and the next moment sticking up for her. It was quite difficult to handle for Meadow, and often, she found herself missing their friendship. As for the rest of the Gryffindors she had made friends with, her and Harry got on very well. Their friendship seemed flawless and effortless. The two had a strong bond over his success in Quidditch, he received a broom a few weeks ago. A Nimbus Two-Thousand came by owls. Despite Meadow's best efforts to get Draco off the Gryffindor's case, he started a "heated discussion" about how Harry would most certainly be expelled over the broom. Professor Flitwick stepped in, announcing happily that Harry had special permission to have a broom, causing Draco's jaw to drop in horror, rage, and confusion. Harry started lessons with the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain, Oliver Wood, to help him understand the game better and learn certain plays.

Her friendship with George Weasley, seemed to be on his terms. Though, since he was an upperclassman and they hadn't spoken more than three times, Meadow was hesitant to go up and chat with the redhead. Occasionally when their eyes would meet, he would smile at her and give a little nod in passing. Yet, he hadn't sought her out lately. Meadow figured that George had his reasons for not speaking with her lately; trying not to think too much about it. On the other hand, a younger Weasley had grown to not like Meadow as much anymore. Ron would make awful faces whenever she'd approach. Not directly calling her anything or saying anything to her. But Meadow would hear "Why do you even talk to _her_?" or "She's probably just as horrible as Snape," once she would bid Harry or Shane a goodbye and be a few steps away. It brought tears to her eyes and deter her from speaking to the Gryffindors for a few days before she'd gather up the courage again.

And, of course, there were times she'd chat with the second-year, Terence Higgs, occasionally. Usually when Theo and Daphne were off for a walk around the grounds, Bhu and Gabriel would be playing Wizard's Chess, which left Meadow in the corner of the stairs, alone. There were times she didn't mind being alone, since being an only child raised mostly by Ms. Kashmire, she had a lot of alone time anyway. However, Terence did leave his own friends to come check-in with her. The two formed a solid friendship, or at least, Meadow thought it was. As Terence knew just about everything about Meadow. With the exceptions of the three-headed-dog guarding a trapped door and Meadow's mother in the hospital.

Though all the navigating Meadow did though classes, friends between houses, homework, and spending time with her father, there was one thing she didn't forget about. Shane was ill again. When he came back from the hospital wing, he looked frail and fatigued, just like the previous month. In her journal, Meadow jotted down: _Shane. Tuesday, October 22- gone to hospital wing at noon; Wednesday, October 23- out all day; Thursday, October 24- out all day; Friday, October 25- back at noon. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary beforehand. He refused visitors this time. Madam Pomfrey stopped me from entering the Hospital Wing more than three feet before she promptly told me to turn around as Shane was resting. I will continue to try and find out more. _

Meadow put down her quill and watched as the paper soaked up the ink, it was rather satisfying to watch. The black liquid met with the soft mutated wood. And then, drying to forever uphold the words she wrote. Once she was sure the words had fully dried, she snapped the book shut and put it off on her nightstand by her bed. Looking around at the dormitory, Hestia, Tracey, and Daphne all had their curtains drawn around their beds, indicating they were sleeping. Tracey's light snores could be heard from beyond those green curtains. As Meadow climbed underneath her covers for the night, Bee jumped onto her bed, mewing softly. Meadow took a deep breath in, the air was crisp in her dormitory, but not uncomfortably cold. It was the right amount of warmth and freshness that Meadow adored. Her favorite season was autumn- the leaves changing colors, the air outside had a nice nip to it, it wasn't overly hot or cold, and of course, Quidditch season would begin shortly. As her head hit her pillow, her eyes were still open, and she draped her fingers over the young lynx's soft fur. Bee was one of the only living beings that could bring her comfort like Meadow assumed most mothers brought to their children. Soon after Bee's purrs began, Meadow floated into sleep.

-.-.-

Autumn wasn't all that had excited Meadow, with the basics being covered, her lessons were becoming more interesting, well, except for History of Magic. After the first lesson, Meadow, to, fell victim of the stuffy classroom and Professor Binns' monotone voice that just put everyone to sleep. Well, there was the environment, however, Meadow swore the last time she tuned into a lecture, Binns was still on about the Gargoyle Strike of 1911, and it had been two months of this bit of history. Alas, there was no deterring Binns from straying away from every little detail or even paying any attention to the class at all. Where those who were able to stay awake would be playing Exploding Snap or eating during samples of sweets that had been snuck in from the upperclassmen.

Herbology had surprised Meadow when Professor Sprout announced they would be learning _Incendio_, a fire spell. When explained, the Fire-Making Spell was a charm to conjure a jet of flames to set things on fire, as well as to deter dangerous plants from attacking. Despite Meadow being glad that she was placed with the Hufflepuff, Justin Finch-Fletchley, during the first week; the kind student later grew wary of Meadow and focused specifically on the classwork, much to the disappointment of Meadow. She had hoped that showing the boy she was someone not to fear would impact him to not allow her father's reputation to ink onto hers. Alas, it did not work as Meadow had planned. And Finch-Fletchley, had turned slightly cool towards her, not engaging in conversation or responding, "This doesn't focus on Herbology, so let's get back on topic. . ."

During Transfiguration, it was still slightly bland, as Professor McGonagall drilled the Transfiguration alphabet into the first years. She had a chalkboard behind her with the 26 characters translated from the English alphabet. Every morning, however, it was a clean slate, as they knew they were to be quizzed on the alphabet, each time frame growing smaller and smaller the further they got into the term. McGonagall wanted the transfiguration alphabet to be second nature, and thankfully for Meadow, due to her interest in the subject, had no problem memorizing and remembering each character. Once the quiz was completed, McGonagall would continue on with their lecture or practice. Meadow enjoyed the practice days, where McGonagall would have small objects laid upon the desks and direct them to change the object into another one. Much like the match to needle within the first week, now, they had gotten to a chess piece transformed to a small pebble. There was no letting up on homework from Professor McGonagall. She firmly believed that the material for Transfiguration was not just to be memorized, but to be fully and completely understood in order to master transfiguration.

And that was only part of what the first years had moved forward onto. As the next week flew by, Meadow's spirit seemed to depart. The excitement of fall was wearing off and the amount of looks and whispers about her bothered her more. Those looks and whispers were something she still had difficulties with. Especially since her father was known to favor the Slytherins, it seemed that most people, even in her house, still assumed that he would show her more special treatment. Despite being scrutinized more harshly, as demonstrated that first week of term, it did not deter people from that assumption. She wished she could shake off the feeling of guilt and resentment she had towards her father; particularly since living at school with him had brought the two closer together.

Professor Snape's critique of Meadow that Halloween morning surely did get to her more. She woke up to the castle wafting baked pumpkin throughout the corridors, slightly more sensitive on this day, for no reason other than just being more delicate. In double potions with the Gryffindors, the first years were brewing the Forgetfulness Potion. A very easy beginner potion that only consisted of four different ingredients and two parts of six steps. A simple potion. One that was very easy to remember, and not forget.

Meadow and Draco had become quite the pair during this class. As Daphne and Theodore were together and Bhu and Gabriel were partners as well. Flora and Hestia. Tracey and Parkinson. Sally-Anne and Millicent. Crabbe and Goyle. Which left Sebastian Daley, Niles Hanley, and Blaise Zabini being a group of three; which those three got on like the Giant Squid in water. She didn't pay much attention to or know the whole house of the Gryffindors to know who paired off with who; but she did know there was a group of three within the Gryffindors as well. She believed it was Seamus Finnigan, Neville, and Dean Thomas—she knew Neville was in that group, however, the other two boys she wasn't sure of, but thought that's who they were. Which the two groups of three preferred to not be paired with one of the other houses. Meadow wouldn't have minded being paired with a Gryffindor, however, her father would not have allowed for it and with the two groups of three, it made it easier to pick on the Gryffindors.

As said before, Meadow and Draco were able to become great partners at potions, mostly because Draco was not dimwitted and wasn't as atrocious of a partner as some of the other students Meadow could have been put with. Meadow prepped for the potion, adding in the generic starter potion as Draco went to gather the ingredients of Lethe River Water, Valerian sprigs, Standard Ingredient, and dried Mistletoe Berries.

Since her partner still wasn't back, Meadow started to copy down the blackboard instructions.

_Part 1:_

_Add two drops of Lethe River Water to cauldron_

_Gently heat for 20 seconds_

_Add two Valerian sprigs to cauldron_

_Stir three times, clockwise_

_Wave your wand_

_Leave to brew and_

Draco arrived back to the desk, he placed the ingredients down as Meadow sorted them out by order. The paled hair boy grabbed a dropper and stuck it in the jar of deep blue liquid. Meadow eyed him attentively as he started the potion, squirting two drops of the Lethe River Water into the cauldron.

"Can you heat it? You're better at controlling the heat than I am," Draco murmured softly to her as he replaced the stopper to the jar.

Meadow nodded and felt her magic pulse through her veins slowly and down her arms to her fingers. Gently she lit the fire with her wand, looking at the watch on her right wrist, and watched as the second hand moved twenty times. She took the heat off the cauldron and Draco put in two sprigs of valerian from a bushel he had separated earlier. As the flowers melted away into the mixture, the deep blue color had changed to a light purple. Meadow entered the ladle into the liquid slowly, not to make a splash or unexpected swirl.

"Three times, clockwise," Draco said to her, looking down at her notes.

She nodded in response and followed the directions given. She took the ladle out and then waved her wand over the cauldron. It hissed and let off a pink steam, signaling it was time to let it brew for about forty-five to sixty minutes. Draco looked at her and she nodded again, answering his question to if it was right.

Meadow returned to her notes and added the last bit.

_Part 1:_

_Add two drops of Lethe River Water to cauldron_

_Gently heat for 20 seconds_

_Add two Valerian sprigs to cauldron_

_Stir three times, clockwise_

_Wave your wand_

_Leave to brew and return in 45-60 minutes_

_Part 2:_

_Add two measures of Standard Ingredient to the mortar_

_Add 4 mistletoe berries to the mortar_

_Crush into a medium-fine powder using the pestle_

_Add two pinches of the crushed mixture to your cauldron_

_Stir five times, anti-clockwise_

_Wave your wand to complete the potion_

With her notes of the instructions now complete, Meadow glanced at the watch upon her wrist again. Even with taking her time only fifteen minutes had passed. She let out a loud breath of annoyance; even with preparing the standard ingredient and mistletoe berries it wouldn't have been enough time passed to return to the potion. Chewing her lip she watched as her father made his rounds towards the Gryffindors. He avoided Meadow and Draco until the end of class where their potion was complete.

"Are you excited for all the sweets tonight?" Meadow asked Draco quietly as the two watched Professor Snape rip into poor Neville yet again.

"Of course, but nothing will be better than the fudge my mother sends me," he responded smugly. "Are you?"

"I think so, it'll be different this year." Meadow said as her eyes trailed on Neville's hazel eyes and blonde hair. His bottom lip was shaking, along with the rest of his body trembling from fear. Meadow's heart gave a small pang, she liked the boy. And watching her father be so mean to a boy, who the two Snapes saw almost every time at St Mungo's to visit his own parents. . . it was horrible. "Normally, I'd go out, wearing a costume, with the Lupins, and collect candy from neighbors."

"Sounds awful," Draco made a face, sticking out his tongue.

"It was actually quite fun," Meadow replied nonchalantly, distracted by Neville's tears forming in his eyes from being reamed out for being an awful potions maker.

"I still can't believe your father made you go to Muggle school, and partake in Muggle stuff," Draco sassed, frowning at the Potions Master.

"I didn't mind," Meadow said, still distracted as she watched her father move onto Sally-Anne and Millicent, his face looked extremely unhappy with the potion the two girls had created. "Taught me a lot about the Muggle world. Besides, we're all supposed to learn how to avoid drawing attention to ourselves when we're in the Muggle world. No matter what our opinions on Muggles." Her voice was soft and distant, which is part of why Meadow wasn't becoming irritated or enraged at Draco's condescending tone. Her partner could tell that she wasn't fully engaged in the conversation and let it drop. Allowing time for Meadow to collect her thoughts as Draco studied her thoughtfully.

Eventually, Meadow looked down at her wrist, the minutes that had passed gave her enough time start preparing the standard ingredient herb mix and mistletoe berries for the second part. Two measures of the standard ingredient and four berries were added to the mortar, where Meadow crushed them into a medium-fine powder with the pestle. When she got the berries to the consistency she wanted them at, it reminded her of a pink and pepper speckled, rocky sand-like material. There were fine grains along with a few chunkier pieces.

It was time to start part two of the Forgetfulness Potion. Meadow watched as her partner added two pinches of the mixture from the mortar to the cauldron. She added the ladle in slowly and Draco gave her the instruction to stir anti-clockwise five times before waving her wand in a thought-bubble type manor to complete the potion. Of course, she didn't actually know the memory charm and the Potions professor had to officially complete the potion; however, Professor Snape wanted everyone to get in the habit of completing the potion despite not having the proper knowledge or power for certain spells and charms.

Before Meadow or Draco could raise their hands, Professor Snape was there casting the charm to complete the potion. He inspected it, his pointer finger resting just below his nose and his thumb pushing up under his chin. "Needs improvement," the potions master said finally. "The orange color is off, meaning the whole potion is not as effective as a properly brewed potion. Instead of waiting only 45 minutes, as I know you two did, you should have waited until the potion was passed adolescence and turned into a proper yellow-green."

As Meadow's ears took in her father's critique, his voice grew harsher and colder, echoing in her head. Disappointment slammed through her body like a wave crashing into a rocky cliff. "I suspect your Standard Ingredient and mistletoe berry mixture was not nearly a medium-fine powder as instructed. Let me see it," Professor Snape continued and put his hand out for the mortar.

It felt like bugs squirming under Meadow's skin as the embarrassment of handing over the mortar set in. The eyes from some students burned into Meadow, and her face became hot. Forcing herself to look up at her father digging through the mortar, grumbling and grunting at it, Meadow felt enormous pressure building in her head.

"Who made this?" her father said, slowly as he glared at the two.

"I did, sir," Meadow replied quietly.

"What was that?" Professor Snape said harshly, his voice sounding like drums banging in her ears. "Who made this?"

"I did, Sir," Meadow said again, louder this time.

His black eyes bore into hers. Almost identical, apart from the few specks of yellow Meadow was gifted from her mother's eccentric green eyes. "This is the worst medium-fine powder I have seen you make. It's atrocious." He drew out atrocious with a slow, drawn-out sneer.

As if Meadow couldn't sink any lower, her face continued to grow red with embarrassment. All eyes were now on her, the whole classroom was taking in that Meadow's potion work was below pristine. Persisting to rub salt on the wound, Professor Snape went on, "It seems like you forgot how to make a potion, Miss Snape. Clean up this wreck and get out of here."

"Yes, Sir," Meadow replied, her voice slightly cracked as she held back tears. She didn't expect to be great at everything, but she knew her potions. Regardless of her Forgetfulness Potion wasn't up to par, as Meadow knew she had been distracted today due, it wasn't a terrible potion. It wasn't her best potion she'd made, but it was by no means as atrocious as her father made it out to be.

She looked down, avoiding the gaze that was on her, knowing that everyone watched the brutal exchange between father and daughter. Meadow felt the water build in her eyes as she took in the sunset orange liquid. Taking a deep breath in, she reached to pick up her cauldron. Except, Draco already had his fingers grasping it. His steely grey eyes bore into hers with neither pity or sympathy, rather understanding was upon his face. He nodded at her, signaling that he'd take care of the clean-up.

Meadow blinked at him and raised her eyebrows, questioning that if it was okay for her to leave. "Go," Draco whispered as he lifted the cauldron off the table to bring it over to the dumping area. She didn't need to be told twice, Meadow grabbed her notes, stuffed them in her backpack, and darted out of the classroom. Tears immediately spilled out of her eyes.

Meadow knew the easiest place to go was the dormitories, but she didn't want to be found. She longed to race up to her bed and cuddle with Bee. However, she felt a pull towards the towers. A sort of comfort pulled her out of the dungeons, to the ground floor—her tears were pouring faster, over her cheeks as she climbed up the steps two at a time. She felt like racing all the way up to one of the towers, and laying out in the wind and sun—

A noise from the left of her came, and she darted up to the first floor down the corridor, and into the lavatory. It was empty, for now. She fell against the sinks on the wall, across from the lavatory stalls; the stone solid and cool against her back. Meadow sank to her bottom and curled her knees up to her chest. Her tears became louder, and she choked out sobs that rumbled her body. She shook, letting her wails echo along the stone walls. Her sobs her violent, shaking her whole body, salvia running down her chin and snot gathering under her nose.

-.-.-

When the small girl was able to regain her composure, she wasn't sure how much time had passed. Meadow did know one thing, that she wasn't ready to come out of the bathroom just yet. She turned on a sink, water rushed out of it. Meadow cupped the water, it was cold, but she didn't care. Putting her face close by the sink she splashed it, washing off her cheeks and rinsing her eyes.

Just as Meadow was about to open the door, it opened violently to a girl with bushy hair racing by, not noticing the Slytherin girl and threw herself into the closet stall, locking it with a clink. Frozen to her spot, Meadow listened to the girl heave her own sobs. Torn between wanting to comfort the girl and leaving unnoticed, Meadow raised her hands, lifting one higher than the other and then lifting the other higher and lowering the first one—like a scale weighing out objects.

Signing, her sensitive side won, quietly she crept closer to the stall, making sure she was unseen. And sat down, leaning against the wall about halfway between the toilets and door. This bathroom was possibly one of the smallest at Hogwarts. Still not tiny, as it had eight stalls across the back wall, eight sinks lining up on the front wall, and a large space between the two; however, it was one that Meadow thought to be the smallest in size so far, excluding the dormitory bathrooms.

As Meadow waited for the girl to let out her pain, she studied the bathroom details. Never once Meadow thought about how different this one was compared to another. Nevertheless, this bathroom had half walls filled with white tile, the other half a tan stone like the rest of the corridors in the castle. Silver pluming exposed from the sinks, twisting and turning in a variety of different ways before disappearing into the concrete floor. Across the middle of the floor, a large, rectangular drain ran from left to right, separating the stalls and sinks. Large, blackish-bronze torch holders had massive flames illuminating, which lit up the lavatory quite well; there was only one small window upon the wall Meadow was leaning on. This window, despite its small size, was difficult to miss, as a large arch had been carved out of the wall, giving a small lip of a step into the archway for roughly a foot-sized area to stand directly next to the stained-glass window. It was a beautiful and quirky bit of architecture within the bathroom. Over the sinks were different shaped mirrors: one tiny, one round with a thick gold border, a rectangle one that fit over two sinks, a square one with a wood frame, one mirror was cracked in the corner, a diamond shaped one, and one sink was missing a mirror. Reflecting in the mirrors, the toilets had large wood encasings around them individually, painted in a deep green color.

The girl in the stall had started to catch her breath and compose herself over her tears. Unsure of how to start the conversation, Meadow cleared her throat as the girl blew her nose.

"Hell—Hello?" the girl's voice asked, it was Granger, the voice confirmed it. Meadow suspected at the hair that brushed passed her, but no one could forget that know-it-all voice blurting out answers.

"Hellu," Meadow responded. "Are you alright?"

"I don't see how it matters to you," Granger responded with a harsh laugh. "Come to rub it in my face more that I've got no friends, and everyone calls me a know-it-all nightmare?"

"Would it be a nice surprise if I said I haven't come to do all that?" the blonde replied, wrapping her robe closer around her. Granger's sharpness took Meadow off guard, and suddenly she felt quite cold from the air.

"I don't know if I'd believe you. I haven't made any friends since I've been here because I know all the answers. Why would anyone be nice to me now that I've come crying into a lavatory?"

"Maybe some of those who tease you are just intimidated by how smart you are," Meadow shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe some of those find it difficult to relate to someone who never gets anything wrong. Or perhaps it may be the tone of voice used. . . I know I always get irritated whenever someone talks to me like I'm stupid; my temper becomes really short with people who have that posture and voice of 'I'm better than you.'"

Meadow feel silent as Granger mauled over what she said. "I suppose that's true," Granger said finally. "I don't mean to; it just comes out that way."

"Never said you did it on purpose," Meadow said, hoping it didn't come across that way. She still felt bad that Granger was getting picked on and bullied to the point of crying in a bathroom. "Maybe it's just something you try and keep in mind. You shouldn't hide how brilliant you are, because you are probably the smartest witch your age."

"All this stuff excites me; I came from a bland homelife compared to all this stuff at Hogwarts." Granger ignored Meadow's compliment, "The spells, brewing potions, learning charms. . . even Professor's Binns' History is intriguing to me." She laughed and Meadow joined in.

"That's got to be the worst class of our core classes," Meadow responded teasing. "What's your favorite class then?"

Granger fell silent again, thinking about it, "I'd have to go with Transfiguration for now, but I know we are allowed elective classes our third year. What about you?"

"Transfiguration is so challenging," Meadow smiled to herself, "I love it. I usually enjoy potions the best. . . but today was awful. . ."

The two girls were quite during a pregnant pause. Granger spoke up, "Professor Snape make it awful today?"

"One could say that. . . he's usually like that though, which sucks. I wish he'd be a bit more optimistic and kinder; I think he'd find that students would try harder for him and become more passionate about his class," Meadow replied, tears threatening to form in her eyes again. "I've watched him go off on other students before—feeling guilty during and after because I didn't stand up to my—my head of house. Professor Snape just never has gone off on me before."

"I assume that's what brought you into this bathroom?" Granger asked, hesitantly.

"Assume what you wish," Meadow replied, wiping off her under-eyes. "That's what everyone else does and judges based off that." She was being careful on her whining and complaining, but it felt so wonderful to finally tell someone all her troubles.

"I understand," Granger responded distantly, thinking about her own pain and reputation among students.

"Not exactly, but I know you mean well," Meadow said quietly.

"I was trying not to pry too much," the Gryffindor shrugged, her voice light and soft.

"Shall I assume you know who I am," Meadow stated.

"Only if I assume you know who I am, then yes," Granger replied. The air around Meadow cleared, it was nice to not have to face someone about the problems the two girls were talking about. "That was a brutal potions lesson today. . . I caught a glimpse of your potion before Malfoy dumped it. It was the best one in the class, better than mine. He shouldn't have spoken to you like that."

"He was trying to make me do better next time," Meadow said, defending her father poorly—she wasn't nearly as fierce without a hothead.

"That doesn't give him a good reason to embarrass you—"

The door opened, and two girls from Gryffindor walked in. "—in front of the whole Slytherin and Gryffindor class," Granger whispered, insisting that Meadow's father was in the wrong. "Professor Snape—"

"Hermione? Is that you?" One of the girls asked, she had almond shaped, rich brown eyes, and straight, black hair pulled back into a low ponytail.

"Parvati?" Hermione's voice questioned.

"Yes," Parvati responded as she entered one of the stalls. Her uniform was prim and proper; her robe swished behind her as she shut the door. "Are you going to come back? It's almost time for the feast."

"No," Hermione said quickly, her voice starting to be strained from the tears that probably grew in her eyes again. "I don't want to see anyone right now."

"What's Snape doing here then?" The second girl asked from looking at herself in the mirror, her round, blue eyes met Meadow's black ones. Meadow's eyes narrowed at the Gryffindor. She looked like a doll; those dark blonde braids had four small, lavender bows in her hair, her pale skin was very fair and natural pink cheeks.

"Don't worry, I won't do anything to Granger," Meadow spat out.

"Meadow's fine," Hermione's voice was high pitched. "Really, you two go enjoy the feast."

Parvati had opened the stall door and went over to wash her hands. "You sure, Hermione?"

"I'm sure!"

The two Gryffindors looked at each other, shrugged, gave one last look at Meadow, and headed out of the bathroom.

"Are they gone. . .?" Hermione asked, her voice small and shaking.

"Yes," Meadow replied. "They seem just peachy."

"More like they only care about gossip and boys," Hermione responded her voice slightly annoyed.

Meadow let out a breath, "Well, they sounded like they were concerned about you with me."

"That's just because you're a Slytherin and Snape. . ." Hermione said. "Anyway, Professor Snape, as great of a potion master as he is, is awful at motivating students to work harder and better for him. And obliterating his daughter's potion is no way to help others. Everyone knows how talented you are at potions—you have a gift, don't disagree—and for the best student to get chewed out like you did. . . well, now Neville is worried he's going to be poisoned next time."

The Slytherin wasn't sure if Granger's speech was supposed to be uplifting or not, Meadow was torn between feeling worse about Neville and feeling good that someone else understood the frustration she had with her father. Her face felt hot from the attention on her, especially since Hermione was the one who was just crying last. "Why help me? Why be nice to be? I'm both a Slytherin and someone who had been rude to you since the train ride." Meadow changed the topic.

"You were here when I ran in. You waited for me to finish up feeling sorry for myself. You asked me if I was alright. You stayed and talked to me, cheered me up—until I accidently brought up potions—"

"I brought up potions, we were talking about our favorite subject—"

"But I asked you what yours was, therefore, my fault—"

"It is not—"

"Anyway!" Hermione said loudly, stopping the two from bickering and interrupting each other to take the blame of who did what. "Despite me snapping on you from my own problems, you having your own pain to tend to, being in different houses. . .and whatever else had happened. You stayed and talked to me. You shown me the first bit of kindness at Hogwarts from another student since I walked onto that train."

"Well, to be fair, you were a bit arrogant," Meadow added.

Hermione fell silent and Meadow's heart immediately started to race, and her face heated up. She shouldn't have said that. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean—" but her words were covered up by the Gryffindor laughing.

Nervously, Meadow cracked a smile. Before long, she had joined the other girl with laughing. "Yes, I suppose that's a bit true," Hermione finally choked out from her fit of laughter. "I never thought I'd be that person, but I became one."

"Ah, well, I set you straight now; you don't have to be that person anymore," Meadow teased Hermione, hoping that it was well consumed.

"Do you mind if I come out now?" Hermione asked, and Meadow knew that the two had become somewhat of friends.

"I suppose so."

Hermione unlocked the door, still wiping tears from her face, instead of rushing over to the sink to wash off, she barrowed over towards Meadow, throwing her arms around the smaller girl and hugging her. Shocked, Meadow froze before instinctually wrapping her arms around Hermione, who was crouched funny as Meadow was still seated against the wall.

"Thank you," Hermione said stiffly as she let Meadow go and stood up.

Meadow followed suit and stood as well, walking over to the large rectangle mirror and peering at her reflection in it. "If you ever need another vent session, let me know. This has been one of the best talks I've had," she said to Hermione as the girl went over to the sinks to wash off her face and hands; it wasn't necessarily a lie. Meadow did have a good time chatting with the other girl, especially since Hermione let her whine about her own day after Meadow had managed to cheer her up. Daphne was by far Meadow's closest friend here, but Daphne tended to make things about herself without realizing it. There were a few times where Daphne was able to empathize and let Meadow vent, but it was different. She wasn't sure if Daphne did it out of being a friend, or from being taught to listen and not interrupt.

"Same time?" Hermione was able to joke.

"Can't say no to that," Meadow jested back, cracking a smirk.

The door opened just as Hermione had finished drying her hands. A horrific stench filled Meadow's nose, a mixture of old, moldy socks and an overrun, outdated, sewer splattered public toilet that no one wanted to go in unless it was an emergency. The girls froze in their places, Hermione's face in shock as she stared right at the thing and Meadow's finger paused in lifting up her eyelashes out of her eye. Looking in the mirrors, Meadow was able to glimpse the source of the awful smell. Twelve feet tall, dull, granite grey skin, massive bumps along its lumpy boulder-like body, with a small head perched on top with large ears. It had short legs thick as tree trunks with flat, horn-like feet. It's arms were massive, roughly the width of an elephant's legs that nearly dragged on the ground they were so long, and within his hand, he held a huge wooden club, which scrapped the floor with a nasty "EEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRR."

"Oh shite," Meadow whispered, still frozen. "Is that what I think it is?"

"It's a troll!" Hermione cried before she let out a high, loud, petrified scream.

Meadow let out a scream as well, trolls were notoriously stupid, but also notoriously aggressive. Hermione had backed all the way into the furthest wall away from the door, knees buckled, about ready to faint. The troll took an interest in Meadow, he swung his club at her. Diving out of the way, the massive wooden club took out the sink she was standing in front of and the two next to it out. She ended up near Hermione, but not out of the reach of the troll's long arms. The troll scooped Meadow up, his hand easily wrapping around her body.

The bathroom door opened violently, slamming into the wall behind it.

"Confuse it!" Harry shouted desperately as he grabbed something and threw it at the troll.

Turning away from Hermione, the troll took Meadow, shaking her in the air as he grabbed his club with the other hand. "Oy, pea-brain!" Ron yelled from the other side of the chamber and threw a metal pipe a t it. The troll didn't flinch at the pipe hitting its shoulder but stumbled to turn and look at Ron. Harry dashed over to Hermione, still flattened and frozen against the wall. Meadow was able to glance Shane's shaggy brown hair also throwing objects and yelling at it.

It seemed that the shouting and echoes were driving the troll berserk. Its grip tightened on Meadow, causing her chest to throb in pain and breathing became squeezed and harder to get enough oxygen through her body. She didn't realize the screaming was from her own vocals. Suddenly, through Meadow's blurry vision, she was able to see Harry do something very brave and very stupid: he jumped onto the troll, fasten his arms around the troll's neck from behind, and shove his wand up the troll's nose. It howled in pain, twisting and flailing its club at Harry, and its grip on Meadow tightened even more.

Meadow swore she felt a rib or two crack. Immense pain shot through her whole body and a scream erupted from her like a possessed woman getting an exorcism. A black ring violently flashed larger and larger around her eyes, tunnel vision growing smaller and smaller. The last thing she saw was Ronald Weasley brandishing his wand and then Harry, on the back of the troll's neck, grow further and further away. As if she had been thrown.

-.-.-.

When Meadow came to, someone was holding her head with their hands and leaning very closely next to her lips with their ear. She recognized that bit of hair anywhere. "_What are you doing, Shane_?" She whispered to him; however, what came out of her mouth was: "Whaaat… Shane?"

"I thought you were dead," he said softly back, keeping his hands on the back of her head and neck.

Meadow realized that there was someone else squeezing her arm, as she went to look at who it was, Shane rubbed his thumb under her jaw, stilling her movement, "It's Hermione. You have a bit of a nasty cut on your left arm. The troll threw you to try and get to Harry. Ron saved us all by using Wingardium Leviosa on it. Knocked the troll out with its own club."

"Is someone coming yet?" Meadow asked, it was difficult to breath, she knew she had at least one rib broken from the troll's death grip on her. Except what came out was a groan, she felt blood dribbling out of the corners of her mouth and down her jaw; she must have bit her tongue.

"Someone should be here soon," Shane whispered to her. "We made a lot of noise."

Meadow could hear Ron and Harry celebrating bringing the troll down. The door burst open yet again, smacking the wall with a bang. Professors McGonagall, Snape, and Quirrell entered. She heard a faint whimper, assuming Professor Quirrell had a faint heart at the sight of the troll. As McGonagall and Snape took in the sight of the lavatory, her father noticed Shane clutching Meadow. He rushed over, conjured a stretcher immediately, and levitated Meadow slowly and carefully onto the stretcher. She knew it was her father, as the scent of earth filled her nose over the stench of the troll briefly. Shane no longer held her head, however, he didn't leave her. Meadow still felt Hermione gripping her arm, she was thankful for the girl, it kept her grounded through her throbbing head, faint vision, and immense pain in her chest.

"What on earth were you thinking of?" Professor McGonagall exclaimed, cold fury in her voice as she looked between Harry and Ron. "You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory?"

"Minerva, talk on the way to the hospital wing; we need to go," Dad said quietly and harshly to the other professor.

The Gryffindor Head of House looked up and saw Meadow in the stretcher. Of course, Meadow was cursing herself for being stuck looking at the ceiling, however, she was terrified to move in case she did more damage. "Very well, follow us, you all should be checked out by Madam Pomfrey," Professor McGonagall said sharply to her Gryffindors; the seven of them left Professor Quirrell in the bathroom with the troll.

"We're not hurt, Professor," Ron Weasley's voice spoke up, but McGonagall ignored him, as Professors Sprout and Flitwick rushed over as well.

"Help Professor Quirrell," McGonagall barked at them. "The troll's knocked out." She turned to the Gryffindors, "What happened? Why were you out in the halls?"

"Please, Professor McGonagall—they were looking for me," Hermione's voice was small as she still held Meadow's arm as they rushed through the corridors towards the Hospital Wing.

"Miss Granger!"

"I went looking for the troll because I – I thought I could deal with it on my own – you know, because I've read all about them." Ron tripped and nearly fell in the disbelief that Hermione Granger just lied to cover for the boys.

"I assume Miss Snape did not go with you?"

"No," Hermione agreed, "Meadow was just using the leu at the wrong time and wrong place. The boys came to look for me. And if they hadn't found me and Meadow—we probably would be dead. Harry stuck his wand up its nose, Shane was yelling at it and throwing bits of sink to confuse it, and Ron knocked it out with its own club. They didn't have time to come and fetch anyone. It was about to finish me off when they arrived."

Meadow let her eyelids fall, she was tired and this way, maybe she wouldn't give away the lie just yet.

"Well – in that case. . ." Professor McGonagall said, looking between the five of them as they grew closer to the hospital wing. "Miss Granger, you foolish girl, how could you think of tackling a mountain troll on your own?"

Meadow wished she could comfort the girl holding her arm; Hermione's grip was the only thing she could feel on her arm, and it grew tighter as Professor McGonagall reprimanded her. Meadow's chest was on fire, she wouldn't be surprised if it actually was on fire with the pain thrashing in her body. Meadow was wheezing to get some breath in her body.

"Miss Granger, five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this. I'm very disappointed in you." Professor McGonagall knew all the words to make someone feel even worse. She turned to the boys. "Well. I still say you were lucky, but not many first-years could have taken on a full-grown mountain troll. You each will win Gryffindor five points. Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this."

Meadow knew they were at the Hospital Wing now, the group had slowed down and two pairs of feet rushed off to open both doors. "If you're not hurt at all, you'd better get off to the Gryffindor Tower. Students are finishing the feast in their houses," Professor McGonagall's voice said sharply.

"Will she be okay?" Shane asked as Meadow felt herself get lowered onto a bed. The busy feet of Madam Pomfrey rushed around her and the matron's magic tingled around Meadow.

"Once I get her all fixed up, she'll be just fine," the healer said. "Miss Granger, if you could let go please."

"Meadow?" Shane asked her and she opened her eyes. His concerned face swum into her vision.

"_It's okay, you can go_," she said to him. Well, really what she slurred out was: "Itsssssokie, youuuuuuuu go."

"Hush now," Madam Pomfrey said to her. "You need some rest." Meadow watched the healer's face go in circles in her eyesight. "Severus? Severus? Severus?"

Why did Madam Pomfrey say Dad's name three times? Meadow wondered to herself, it sounded just like an echo.

"Meadow—Meadow. Drin—drink this—this," Dad said as he leaned over her. His face dancing in her vision. "Op—open—open."

Meadow parted her lips and she felt a cool liquid surpass her tongue and crash into her throat. She choked and swallowed after spitting some up.

"Time to sleep—sleep," Dad said to her as he filled her vision again with his worried expression.

She didn't want to sleep; Meadow fought the sleep. But her eyes grew heavier. The world blurred and spun faster out of control until she was forced to shut her eyes down. Her whole body tingled. At least her ribs didn't hurt nearly as much. . .

-.-.-


	11. 11 New Scars

Miracle

_She didn't want to sleep; Meadow fought the sleep. But her eyes grew heavier. The world blurred and spun faster out of control until she was forced to shut her eyes down. Her whole body tingled. At least her ribs didn't hurt nearly as much. . . _

Chapter 11: New Scars

_It seemed like just a dream. The troll attack. Meadow's slow reactions seemed sluggish and uncalculated. She watched the troll grab her around the waist, pinning her arms down against her sides as it squeezed. Shane rushing over to her limp body, surrounded by mirror shards. Cupping her face and neck with his scarred hands, telling her it would be okay. That someone would be there soon. Ron mastering Wingardium leviosa and using the troll's own club to knock it out. Harry heroically jumping on its back and shoving his wand up its nose. _

Meadow woke with a start, gasping and upright in a sitting position before she realized it. The hospital wing, large, arched windows around the whole room that was lined with hospital beds. The room was light with the morning sun. Tearing her eyes away from the intricate details of the window arches, she saw her father staring at her with intense eyes from his seated position on the edge of her bed.

"Dad," She let out softly, and threw her arm around his neck. This was the first she noticed she had a neck brace on. It was shocking, not being able to move as well as she was used to. And her left arm was bandaged up and strapped to her body.

The response was immediate, he wrapped his arms around her body gently and rushed. "I was worried about you," he said quietly and put a slight pressure on her before releasing.

"I'm sorry," Meadow responded, tears jumped to her eyes. "I didn't ever mean to be in a hospital like this." She hugged him tighter, emotional. Even as an eleven-year-old, Meadow didn't want to see her father suffer watching another family member lying in a hospital bed, unresponsive.

"It's not your fault," Dad replied, his voice tight. "It's not your fault," he repeated.

Tears followed out of Meadow's black orbs. Despite being humiliated from her father the last time she saw him; Meadow would always allow for her love to overrule any other emotion for her father. He had been through so much pain in his thirty-one years of life; more than half of that trauma Meadow didn't even know about. Did that agony excuse some of Severus Snape's behavior? Of course not, but as a kid, there are some things that aren't understood until later.

"Meadow," Dad said quietly and gave her another squeeze before grabbing her shoulders and looking into her eyes. "It is not your fault," he was stern and soft at the same time. "You cannot control everything that happens to you."

The words, as comforting as he wanted them to be. Meadow was unable to control her tears as they fell over her cheeks. She had a large fear of ending up just like her mom, trapped in unconsciousness, unknowing if she'd ever be fully functioning again. Severus also said: 'You cannot control everything that happens to you,' a reminder to himself as well as a life lesson that went right over Meadow's head.

However, Meadow nodded, regardless of being upset and mad at herself for passing out, she knew her father needed to hear that she understood. As she looked at her father, Meadow noticed he turned more serious now. "There is something, Flower, that you will need to realize. . . but, let me take this off you first," he unbuckled the neck brace and took it off.

Meadow felt freed from the miniature prison. Relief flooded her body, and she moved her neck from side to side, stretching it. "So, what is the damage? I assume Madam Pomfrey fixed me up, else I'd also be in St. Mungo's," she joked, trying to lighten the mood. Yet, she was also trying to prepare herself for the bad news.

Dad looked uncomfortable and seemed thankful when Madam Pomfrey came bustling over with a tray of potions and breakfast. "Oh, Miss Snape, you're awake. Good. I'm glad to see that."

"How long has it been?" Meadow asked, worry laced in her voice. Unsure if she even wanted to know the answer or not.

"Only two days, dear," Madam Pomfrey replied as she set down the tray of porridge, toast, and orange slices. "You're healing remarkable well. You woke faster than I anticipated."

"Is that supposed to be comforting?" Meadow asked as she looked at the healer, analyzing her.

The matron gave her a patronizing look, "I assume your father did not tell you then?" She looked between both Snapes. "I presumed as much," Madam Pomfrey sighed, shaking her head at her father. "Meadow, dear, your injuries were extensive. You took quite a beating from that troll. You had four broken ribs, a dislocated knee, internal bleeding—very minimal, but still evident. You received whiplash along with a concussion, and of course, the worse in physical appearance. . . your arm will be permanently disfigured; along with the many cuts and bruises you were given." She paused as she let the information sink in.

"What do you mean 'permanently disfigured'?" Meadow asked hesitantly, glancing down at the white cloth thickly wrapped around her arm, held up by the sling. "Does this mean I'll be permanently disabled?"

"No," Severus spoke up, his voice hoarse. "You will not be disabled. You will be able to return to life just fine, in time."

"What Professor Snape means to say, Dear," Madam Pomfrey said, her blue eyes flashing at the older Snape. "Your arm was shattered. There were mirror shards embedded throughout your whole arm. Miss Granger held your arm together on the way here. Unfortunately, despite my best attempts, your arm will be scarred from your wrist to your shoulder." The healer took a breath and turned to the potions she brought over along side the breakfast that Meadow hadn't touched.

Meadow trailed her eyes upon the vials and bottles of potions the matron set in front of her. The smallest vial was filled with a shimmery turquoise blue. One of the bottles was made out of a pale cream color with the exterior looking like a spine and ribs. A second small vial with a stopper on top of it, it too was blue in color, with a heavier brown liquid at the bottom. A deep green bottle with a small wax gold seal on it. A jar that held an ugly yellow liquid. And a capped purple bottle that swirled around the inside.

"Draught of Peace, Skele-Gro, Calming Draught, Deflating Draught, Wound-Cleaning Potion," Madam Pomfrey listed off. "You've already received a Blood-Replenishing Potion, given you lost a lot of blood on the way here."

"Why would I need the Draught of Peace?" Meadow questioned, slightly annoyed as she looked at a potion that relieved anxiety and agitation.

"It will calm you, your wounds are still tender," Madam Pomfrey replied, with a harsh yet soft voice. Stern and caring. That's what the woman was. "Now, take this," she picked up the shimmery turquoise blue small vial, The Draught of Peace, and opened it. A light silver vapor expelled from the bottle, the scent of a forest wafted through her nose.

"Do I really have to?"

"Unless you want to make Madam Pomfrey's job harder, then yes, you have to," Severus said to her sternly, giving her a hard look.

Meadow sighed, only to flinch at her sore ribs. "Fine," she held out her hand for the correct dosage from the healer. She took the small sip, and the effects of the potion began as soon as the liquid touched her tongue. Peace inched across her skin, the feeling of relaxation pulsed through her and her body tingled before becoming heavy.

"Deflating Draught," Madam Pomfrey said as she handed the next glass next, the deep green liquid.

"Why?"

"You're still swollen," her father said with a pointed look that also said _'Do not question every potion.'_

Meadow could hardly care, she took a swig of it, as the two indicated she should—it was probably for her internal organs that had been bruised and irritated. There was two ways to use the Deflating Draught, one by drinking, and the second by applying it to the visible swollen area. Next up the calming draught, despite already feeling relaxed and content. Madam Pomfrey insisted on Meadow taking a large swig of the blue and brown potion.

Feeling as light as a feather, Meadow's face had a semi-permanent smile upon it. Madam Pomfrey pulled the curtains and ushered Severus out of the enclosed area. The healer helped Meadow out of bed, one foot over the edge of the bed and then the next. Meadow felt the cool stone touch her feet as Madam Pomfrey gently pulled her up off of the bed; she cast away Meadow's white hospital pants, leaving the girl in the shirt and her underwear. Madam Pomfrey looked over her legs quickly, washing them off, applying the Deflating Draught and Wound-Cleaning Potion where she felt necessary, before helping Meadow with her new pair of white pants. Though Meadow felt as high as a kite, she was grateful that the matron cast out her father from this vulnerable moment.

The witch unfastened the sling from Meadow, allowing for her bandaged arm to be free, which hung at her side. Meadow's old white shirt was cast off and Madam Pomfrey busied herself with washing the top half of the girl. Even though Meadow assumed Madam Pomfrey got her all washed off the night of the troll attack, she was still grateful for getting a bit cleaner. Her skin didn't feel so dirty from sweat, and it was the first washing she remembered. Madam Pomfrey was careful around the bruised ribs, sensitive stomach, and sore back. Thankfully, it didn't hurt nearly as bad as the night of the troll; she did see a few stars during a particularly painful area, but nothing nearly as bad as the tunnel vision and echoing of voices. The two started to struggle with the new shirt to fit over the huge amount of bandages that were wrapped around her left arm.

After some struggling, Madam Pomfrey stretched the material thin, making it wide and holey, the threads barely hanging onto each other. As soon as her arm made it through, the older witch pushed the material back together, where it looked like new and the shirt fit around her perfectly. Still feeling the effects of the Draught of Peace and Calming Draught, Meadow sat back upon the bed taking a drink of the Skele-Gro, which brutalized her taste buds and burned on the way down. Now came the moment of truth, what laid beyond the wrappings of her left arm. Meadow was distracted from the vile taste of the Skele-Gro as Madam Pomfrey undid the bandages.

A voice cleared his throat from behind the curtain. "Oh, yes, Severus. Please come in," Madam Pomfrey said distractedly as she carefully pulled away the bloody and yellow-oozed gauze.

Meadow smiled as her father came into the enclosed area and reached out her right hand for him to take. Severus was limping a bit as he did as he sat on the edge of her hospital bed turned towards her while able to keep an eye on her arm. "Hi, Dad," the girl said as she looked at her father's sharp face. She was feeling drugged from the two relaxing potions, and her eyes gave it away as they were smizing and dropping at the same time.

"Hello, Flower," He replied and met her gaze. Meadow normally got the sinking feeling that he would read her mind, but it didn't come this time. Either because of her altered state of mind, or that he didn't try to enter.

Meadow felt a tug from her skin and looked down. Madam Pomfrey was gently pulling away the no-longer white wrapping and there were a few places Meadow's skin had scabbed over intertwining the bandages with her skin. However, the sight that she took in was shocking. Her arm was covered in dark purple and blue bruises; there were a few ugly red road-rash looking bruises as well. It wasn't just the bruises along her arm, there were several, long, and deep atrocious cuts from wrist to shoulder. It wasn't just one line of a cut. There was one from the inside of her wrist to elbow. Another wrapped around her elbow. A third on the outside of her arm, running down her shoulder to an inch above her elbow. Additionally, there were many other minor cuts and scrapes, but those three deep cuts would be the ones that would scar over, permanently ending upon Meadow's body.

"Oh," she gasped. "Is this what you mean by disfigured?" Meadow was slightly relieved, she figured she'd have a bum arm for the rest of her life; of course, it was still upsetting that she had her arm torn up for the remainder of her days.

The adults grew silent, and Madam Pomfrey continued to clean up and then slather on the potions she needed to. Thankfully, with this round of potions and the healer's magic, the bruises were able to be sped up in the healing process, turning a gross yellow and brown. The smaller scratches were healed and all that were left was the silver-white scars that were barely noticeable. The large, open cuts were now closed, though pink and puffy, with the skin around it irritated. Meadow didn't feel so sore anymore, though, there still a fair bit of stiffness laying on her.

"Can you wrap it again?" Meadow asked, her voice high and soft. Her black eyes locked onto the blemished arm with distain.

"It doesn't need to be, Dear."

"Please," she pleaded with the witch.

Madam Pomfrey sighed and wrapped her up with a bandage. "Thank you," The girl cleared her throat as Madam Pomfrey gathered up the potions, letting Meadow and her father alone. Meadow grabbed a bit of the toast and ate it, looking at her father.

The Snapes watched the matron head into her office. "You can't keep your arm wrapped up all the time once you're released."

"I don't want to look at it," Meadow replied, shaking her head. "Everyone will make fun of me. It's one more thing that would give people to talk about me behind my back."

Severus fell silent and Meadow picked at her food. She pushed it away after a while, not caring to finish it. The two fell quiet, sitting together as Severus studied his daughter, who was looking out of the window. The fall sun felling so warm and so far away at the same time. Overtime, sleep took over Meadow's mind, having her fall into a deep sleep.

-.-.-.

The next day she woke up feeling refreshed and not as sore. Madam Pomfrey had breakfast floated over to her bed with the few potions she still needed. Which those potions ended up being only the Calming Draught and the Draught of Peace. Meadow was glad to see that she no longer needed the Deflating Draught, Skele-Gro, or Wound-Cleaning Potion.

"Madam Pomfrey, do I have to take these?" Meadow called to the healer.

The matron marched up to Meadow's bed and scrutinized her. "Take one of them. If any funny business happens at all, you'll be taking the other too." Those blue eyes pierced Meadow, signaling that the healer was very serious about that.

"Yes, Ma'am," Meadow said and picked up the Calming Draught, it was less potent than the Draught of Peace. She downed it in front of Madam Pomfrey, which pleased the older witch.

With that Meadow was left alone to eat her breakfast in peace. Until Harry, Shane, Hermione, and Ron pushed open the doors—immediately, Shane picked up his pace when he saw Meadow awake. She moved her tray off to the side and kicked her feet out from under the white hospital blankets.

Shane engulfed her in a hug without even allowing Meadow to fully stand up and trapping her arm against her body. "Doe, I'm so glad you're okay."

"Course I am," Meadow whispered into his shoulder. "Thanks to you four." He let go of her and she looked around at the other three Gryffindors standing at the end of the bed. Harry looking at her arm in the sling, Hermione eyeing her worriedly, and Ron looking disgruntled at something.

"Good to see you're alright," Harry said with a smile. Meadow moved forward and the two hugged quickly.

After Harry and Meadow released each other, Hermione wrapped her arms around her. "We were worried about you," Hermione said.

"Well," Meadow blushed, embarrassed, "I'm alright, still a bit sore, but considering I would probably be dead without you all." She looked at Ron, who was still standing awkwardly. "Whatever you did was bloody brilliant." She held her hand out to shake Ron's hand, which he took with pink ears over the compliment.

"It's nothing."

"You cast your first charm!" Hermione praised. "It was anything but nothing! You saved us all."

Meadow sat back down on the bed, still sore and tired easily. Shane quickly helped her into bed, lifting her legs and adjusting the pillows behind her. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," Meadow said with a smirk, adoring the attention Shane was giving her. It was like they were back in Muggle school, best friends again. "Just get tired easy right now."

"We can leave you to rest," Harry spoke up.

Meadow shook her head and smiled, "It's up to you. I don't mind the company." Shane shimmed next to Meadow in the bed, Hermione sat at the end of the bed, and Harry and Ron pulled up chairs to sit and chat. The four told Meadow about all the rumors going around at Hogwarts about the troll attack. The five laughed together for the first time.

There were very few things that could bring a diverse group of people together and be friends. A troll attack was one of them.

-.-.-

Later that day, Daphne and Theo came to visit. Daphne brought Meadow her homework from classes and her notes for Meadow to copy. The two Slytherin girls embraced after Daphne dropped the bags off on the end of the bed.

"It's so good to see you," Daphne gushed. "We've all been so worried about you," those words echoed Hermione's from this morning.

"I'm fine, really," Meadow replied with a smile. "A bit sore still, but I'm fine."

"What did happen?" Theo asked as he took a seat on the stool next to her bed.

Meadow shrugged, "I can't remember much. You probably know more than me—"

"Oh please, we all know that Granger didn't go after the troll and happen to find it in the girls' bathroom where it was rumored you were hiding out all day," Theo said harshly. "Granger may be a Gryffindor, but she is as cowardly as Sally-Anne."

Meadow looked at Theo, unamused at his comments. Sure, he was right about Sally-Anne, the Slytherin girl with large eyes and equally large, thick, square-rimmed glasses and huge buck teeth. Sally-Anne, was the one Slytherin who stood out more than Meadow did, nobody wanted to be her friend. She was odd, stunk of unwashed socks, and said very bizarre things. She also never stood up to anyone, in fact, whenever anyone was getting bullied, she would flake and hightail out of it. Sally-Anne would never talk in classes and tended to get paired up with Millicent Bullstrode, despite being relentlessly picked on by Millicent and Parkinson.

"Don't be so rude, Theo," Daphne said softly as she patted Meadow's good hand. "I'm sure it was traumatizing. Imagine a Mountain Troll going after you." She narrowed her blue eyes at Theo.

He rolled his eyes in response, "Tell us what happened."

"Oh bloody hell, alright," Meadow said, letting out a breath of frustration. "I was in the bathroom since Potions—I'm assuming you knew that?"

"Well, we knew you were upset about potions," Daphne said. "We just didn't know where to look for you. We only just heard about the bathroom during the feast. Word traveled from Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown that you and Granger were both in the bathroom looking miserable."

Meadow shrugged. "Rough day, anyway. So yeah, we were both in the bathroom before the troll. Sure Granger lied," she waved her good hand as if to say 'whatever'. "Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Shane all distracted it. Or tried to at least. It had grabbed me after going for Hermione. All I remember after that is seeing Harry jump up on it, Weasley wave his wand, and then I blacked out. Woke up unable to move with Shane holding my head and Hermione holding my arm with blood pooling out of my mouth."

"That's horrible," Daphne said, her lower lip trembled in a pout.

Theo's face had contorted into an uncomfortable and unpleasant expression. "So, it's true then. You had a lot of injuries."

"Madam Pomfrey listed a bunch off. Broken arm and ribs, concussion, whiplash, internal bleeding, cuts and bruises everywhere. . ." Meadow said, she wasn't sure if she liked Theo's tone of voice with her.

"Everyone had been saying you were dead," Daphne said quietly. "One of the Prefects saw you and the Gryffindors rush passed them with McGonagall and Snape. Said your eyes were closed, you were as pale as a ghost, blood falling from your mouth, and Granger and Lupin holding your arm together as Snape was preforming a few healing spells. Whoever it was said that the healing spells didn't look like they were working as more blood kept slipping passed your lips."

"I felt just as good as dead," Meadow said as she stretched her back and ribs. "Wonder who the Prefect was."

"Dunno," Theo said. "Rumors were already spreading like wildfire and then whoever saw you feed into them, and then it turned into 'Did you hear what so-an-so said?'"

The Hospital Wing doors opened again to reveal Draco and Terence, the two boys angerly whispering over something. Immediately, when they saw Meadow was sitting up and awake, they stopped and hurried over to her bed.

"Doe!" Draco exclaimed and rushed over to the other side of the bed, getting as close to her as he could.

"Hey," Meadow said meekly. She was starting to feel overwhelmed and tired.

"I'll see you later, Doe," Theo said and stood up for Terence to take his spot on the stool.

Meadow nodded, "Thanks for stopping by."

Theo left the Hospital Wing and Daphne watched him grimly. "I best go after him. I'll stop by later, okay?"

"I'll see you later," Meadow replied with a smile at her closest Slytherin girlfriend. The blonde got up and hurried after Theo.

"He's in a right bad mood," Terence said watching Daphne disappear after Theo. "Wonder what's got his wand in a knot."

"He's probably mad about the Gryffindors," Meadow muttered.

"Wouldn't put it passed him," Draco said, his steely gray eyes on the Hospital Wing doors.

Meadow's eyes snapped onto Draco's pale face. "How so?"

"He's got an issue with other houses. I'd be careful around him," Terence said. "He comes from a long line of dark wizards in his family. His parents were Death Eaters, in a close circle to You-Know-Who."

"Most of our parents were Death Eaters, Higgs," Draco hissed. "In case you forgot, your family isn't innocent either."

"Aye, my parents were no saints," Terence said. "My mother is in Azkaban the rest of her life for the crimes she did. It's not as though I'm alone in this, granted, I don't understand how your father talked his way out of Azkaban."

"He was under the Imperious Curse," Draco said scathingly.

"Alright, alright," Meadow said, putting her good hand up. "Enough talk about parents and family history. I don't even want to get into it."

"Tell us what happened!" Draco exclaimed excitedly.

Meadow did, except that she was in the bathroom alone, the troll came in and then Hermione, few moments later, Shane, Harry, and Ron came in and helped. And the rest was just the same as all the other rumors that were buzzing around.

Not long after Meadow was done telling the story, Madam Pomfrey came and ushered the boys out. Which Meadow was grateful about, as her eyes were becoming tired, she was yawning, and she still felt a bit overwhelmed with the amount of people who visited her today. Madam Pomfrey had her take a sip of the Draught of Peace, which put Meadow over the edge and she fell into a sleep.

-.-.-

The Friday after the attack, Meadow was released from the care of Madam Pomfrey, after being deemed well enough to attend classes. That, and Meadow had begged Madam Pomfrey to release her before the first Quidditch match of the season. Gryffindor verses Slytherin. On the condition that Meadow got through her classes with no trouble and she had to wear a sling still.

But, Quidditch had brought up an idea for Meadow to feel more comfortable about her giant scars on her arm. A lightweight Quidditch sleeve. She was glad to no longer be coped up in the hospital wing, but she still was upset about her arm, pleading with Madam Pomfrey to wrap it so the large, pink, puffy cuts were hidden away from people's staring eyes. Meadow also doubled the wrapping with long-sleeve shirts and jumpers since the air grew colder. The mountains around the castle became icy gray, the lake like chilled steel. The surrounding grounds had frost covering it every morning.

During Double Potions, Draco stepped up his game, he still let Meadow study the instructions and oversee the steps he was taking. During the brewing break the white blonde turned to her.

"Are you okay?" he asked, cautiously. Daphne's and Theo's eyes snapped up from their seats on the opposite side of the table. Apparently, during the week, her father had decided that Crabbe and Goyle benefited off Meadow and Draco too much. Snape moved the two and put them with Sally-Anne and Millicent, which then moved Daphne and Theo to their table, as they had been brewing passing grade potions.

"I'm fine," Meadow responded, looking into his gray eyes. "Really."

"You were attacked by a troll," Daphne spoke up, her voice harsh with worry. "It's not a secret on what happened to you."

"Madam Pomfrey gave me the okay to go to classes today," Meadow leveled. "She would have never let me out if she didn't want me out. Look, I know you are all worried about me, but really, I'm fine. I've got a sling, Draco's doing all the cutting and smashing. . . You three won't even let me carry around my backpack." This was true, for the most part, Daphne and Draco were being overprotective of Meadow, not allowing her to carry anything and being sure they took detailed notes the whole week she missed. Theo still kept his distance, but that was perfectly fine with Meadow; he was treating her like normal, which is what Meadow wanted.

They were brewing the Forgetfulness Potion yet again. As practice makes perfect. It was fine, her father had been around to their table, briefly telling them that their Valerian sprigs were too small. "Well someone has to watch out for you," Draco muttered quietly to her.

She gave him a pointed look, "What does that mean?"

"What were you doing with the Gryffindors again?" he lashed out at her.

Meadow's face became unimpressed. "I wasn't with them. I had been in that bathroom all afternoon. I see that no one else came to look for me."

"We tried," Theo interjected, speaking up about the issue for the first time since their conversation the first day they had during the hospital wing visit.

Meadow look into Daphne's ice blue eyes, searching for the truth. "We did try," Daphne reassured her. "But Sage caught us trying to sneak away."

"Only because Parkinson told on us," Draco added, a disgusted look upon his face.

"So, Parkinson told Sage that you three were trying to go find me?" Meadow mused, a smirk across her face. It was slightly funny, the amount of jealously Pansy Parkinson held against Meadow.

"Something like that," Daphne said. "So much for 'Us Slytherins stick together.'"

Meadow shrugged, feeling better that her Slytherin friends did try to warn her about the troll, even if they didn't succeed.

After class, Meadow went up to her father's desk.

"The potion was much better this time, Miss Snape," he said roughly as she approached.

"Good to know my involvement in Draco's potion wasn't necessary," she snapped back at her father. "Not why I came up at all. I actually had an idea for my arm."

"It'll heal up and soon become unnoticeable, Meadow," Severus sighed as he watched the last student disappear from the classroom.

"Except right now, it's very noticeable," she replied. "I don't want people to see it and look at me differently."

"Then what do you want to do about it? You'll only be in that sling for another day or two before Madam Pomfrey fully releases you," he was bored or uninterested. Granted, it wasn't that long ago they had this talk in the hospital wing.

"A Quidditch sleeve. Like one the chasers sometimes wear when they overuse their elbows, the kind that goes from shoulder to wrist," Meadow replied matter-of-factly.

"You don't need one," her father pointed out.

"I don't need one for durability, just one so I can wear it like a long-sleeve shirt without wearing the long sleeves," she argued. "A simple sleeve, just the material where it's skintight but not beneficial in anyway apart from to cover up my arm."

"I'll think about it," his voice was hard and low, clearly over this conversation.

Meadow took it as it was time for her to leave, so she turned and gathered her things up and walked out of the classroom. Sighing she headed towards the Slytherin Common Room to rejoin Daphne and Theo.

-.-.-

Later that day, Meadow found herself catching up with Harry, Hermione, and Shane in the courtyard. Although, she was grateful for Ron Weasley during his part in the troll attack, Meadow was glad he wasn't there around the jar of blue fire Hermione had conjured up. The four had their backs to the fire, warming up and catching up. They moved closer together, assuming that the bright blue fire was forbidden, to block it from view.

Unfortunately, something about their guilty faces caught Snape's eye and he limped over to them. He hadn't seen the fire, but he seemed to be looking for a reason to tell them off anyway.

"What's that you've got there, Potter?" Meadow's father sneered.

It was _Quidditch Through the Ages._ Harry showed him the book. Snape snapped the book out of Harry's hand.

"Library books are not to be taken outside the school. Five points from Gryffindor," Severus said sharply and limped away.

"He's just made up that rule," Harry muttered as they watched Meadow's father make his way slowly into the castle. "Wonder what's wrong with his leg?"

"Dunno," Shane said softly and bitterly. "Whatever it is, no offense, Doe, but I hope it's really hurting him."

"Given what he just did, I don't take offense," Meadow replied before turning towards the bright blue fire. Her hands and cheeks were getting cold. "Besides, whatever it was, we know for sure it wasn't the troll."

"What else could have been though?"

The four glanced anxiously around at each other, they knew exactly what could have done the limp to Severus. Meadow was later confirmed that the three-headed-dog was the culprit. She agreed to ask for Harry's book back. As Snape was more likely to give the book back to her than Harry.

She knocked on the door to the staffroom. No answer. She knocked again. Still no answer, figuring that no one would be in the staffroom, she pushed the door slightly ajar and peered inside—a horrible scene met her eyes.

Her father and Filch were inside, alone. Dad holding his black robes above his knees, one of his leg was bloody and mangled. Filch, handing Dad bandages and thick, salve potions.

"Blasted thing," Dad scorned, "How are you supposed to keep your eyes on all three heads at once?"

Meadow knew she walked into something she shouldn't have, trying to shut the door quickly and quietly—

"MEADOW!"

Dad quickly dropped his robes to hide his leg, and his face was twisted in fury.

"I was just wondering if I could get Harry's book back," she said quietly, eyes on the floor in front of her face. "You should use Skele-Gro on that, and a Deflating Draught. It's not like you couldn't brew them yourself."

"Watch your tone, Meadow," her father said harshly.

She shrugged. "Can I have the book back or not—"

The lime green cover came flying at her, she ducked, stumbling over her feet. Meadow fell, losing her balance since her left arm was still stuck to her side with the sling. A shooting pain ruptured up her arm from falling on her elbow. Surprise and pain ripped across her face as she looked up from the floor to her father's angry face. Tears appeared in her eyes and immediately Severus's face softened.

"Flower," he said delicately. "Are you okay?"

Meadow's jaw unhinged and she shook her head. Her eyes wide as they met her father's black orbs. She closed her mouth and went to open it again to say something. Anything. But her jaw snapped shut. Instead, she scrambled up to her feet awkwardly, clutching her arm, she turned on her heel and sprinted away, not even stopping to pick up the book next to her.

"Meadow! Meadow Lilium!" Her father voice called after her.

It didn't matter, the damage was done. Meadow saw everything she needed to. Her father was trying to get passed the three-headed dog, to get to whatever was being guarded below. How was she to trust her father? All of those Sunday tea meetings, and he never once mentioned trying to find a way to get passed that dog? Why? Why did he want the package from Hagrid? Or well, the possibility of the package that Hagrid brought from Gringotts. What was even in the package?

Before she knew it, she was back upstairs on the seventh floor. Meadow found herself by a large, stone arch that sat in the near distance of a large woman in a pink silk dress, rosy cheeks and black hair. She looked like a kind and stern woman, passionate about food and drinks, and also serious about protection. Just then the portrait opened up, swinging in to reveal Harry.

His face lit up when he saw Meadow, and then immediately turned into confusion. "Doe? What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry," she blubbered out, "I'm sorry—"

"You didn't get the book?" Harry asked, confused. "It's fine. I'm sure he wouldn't have given it back to me either."

Meadow shook her head, tears started streaming out of her black orbs. The red blood-shot whites made her irises stand out more than normal. "I'm so sorry I didn't believe you before. . . about my—about Snape. You were right. He—he tried to get passed the three-headed-dog. That's why he's limping!"

She slid against the stone and slid to the ground, trying to choke back her sobs, she started to hiccup. Harry looked around wildly. "Doe, it's okay—you just were trying to stick up for your dad. You didn't know—it's okay."

Meadow shook her head. "It's not—I believed he wasn't bad. But I knew… I knew there was something wrong. He's been so mean to—to everyone here! Why—Why wouldn't he try and do something else dark and go behind Professor Dumbledore's back?" The book being thrown at her replayed in her mind. Falling, watching the ceiling fly into her eyesight as her butt and arm connected with the solid floor. The huge shot of electric pain racing up her arm, sending a numb feeling up her spinal cord.

"It'll be okay—we don't even know for sure that Snape's behind it! He just seems like the type. . ." Harry said, patting her good shoulder. "Can I do anything for you?"

Meadow shook her head, "It doesn't matter. It never mattered. Nothing matters." She buried her face in her hands. Not noticing that Harry was looking around bewildered before dashing away into the Gryffindor Common Room.

Meadow wiped her eyes and nose, clearing away the liquid on her rosy cheeks. Unbeknownst to her, that certain redhead sat himself by her. "Rough day again?"

"George!" Meadow gasped. "I didn't even notice you."

"It's Fred," he said seriously. "Honestly, woman, how can we be friends if you keep getting my name wrong?"

Meadow's eyes became wide, horrified that maybe all along she had been calling him the wrong twin's name all along. "I'm only joking, I am George."

She let out her breath and clapped a hand over her chest, "You really got me this time."

"I could tell," George cracked a smile.

Silence fell between them. The fat lady portrait opened up again to show Harry, Shane, and Hermione pushing through. Meadow locked eyes with Hermione and very slightly shook her head. The girl grabbed the two boys' arms and whispered something to them. They halted in their tracks, watching her.

"We should really stop meeting like this," Meadow whispered as she wiped off her eye again.

"Aye, but then we wouldn't talk," George said. "Don't you want a Knight in the night?"

Meadow shrugged, "Does that always work?"

"Honestly, I don't know why I said that," George replied. "It just kind of came out."

Meadow snorted, before giggling. "Maybe we could talk about your day instead?"

"Oh," George exclaimed. "Well, you know. Plotting and planning tricks. Busy, busy, busy."

She laughed slightly, "What about classes?"

"Classes as normal," George shrugged. "It's a bit hard to pay attention to them sometimes. The only things I like to pay attention to are those that would help me and Fred for making pranks."

"So, you'd have an interest in Transfiguration and Potions?" Meadow asked curiously. The Weasley twins certainly did have a prankster reputation at Hogwarts. Everyone at Hogwarts knew the twins, they were overall good and kind boys. But they also had their mischievous status as well; fair friends with Peeves the Poltergeist.

George shrugged again, "Transfiguration is okay. Not the biggest fan of Potions, but it'll be helpful later with certain things, like creating a fake nosebleed or boils. . . or swelling tongues. Charms is something more interesting to me."

"Not something I would have pegged you for," Meadow said lightly, trying to tease him. She looked up again and saw that Harry, Hermione, and Shane were no longer standing outside the portrait of the Fat Lady.

He cracked a smile, "Glad to be a surprise."

Meadow let out a breathy laugh, "You always are. I never know if I should talk to you or not."

"Dunno why. I'm not too scary, am I?" George replied with ease.

"Not at all," she said and wiped her face with the sleeves of her robes. The left one slipped up, exposing half of the ugly, puffy cut that started to scab and scar over. George noticed. Meadow saw that George noticed. Quickly she shoved her sleeve back down and held the material over her wrist with her right hand.

"Is that from—"

"It's nothing," Meadow interrupted. "Still healing from the troll attack." She got up and pulled the sling under her arm so it was back in the 'proper' position that Madam Pomfrey wanted. "I'm sure it'll be gone by next month."

George looked at her the way Meadow hated to be looked at, with pity. Before he could say anything, Meadow locked eyes with his blue ones, mustered some strength, courage, and sternness, "I'm fine. I best be off. Good luck tomorrow."

She walked away, still sniffling, leaving the older boy sitting on the floor baffled. Meadow's head spun as she walked down all those steps towards the dungeons. She didn't really know why the troll scar bothered her so much. Was it the way it looked? The embarrassment from being the only one caught and hurt by the troll? Either way, Meadow did know that she hated that scar with a burning passion.

-.-.-.


	12. 12 Prolonged Anger

Miracle

_She walked away, still sniffling, leaving the older boy sitting on the floor baffled. Meadow's head spun as she walked down all those steps towards the dungeons. She didn't really know why the troll scar bothered her so much. Was it the way it looked? The embarrassment from being the only one caught and hurt by the troll? Either way, Meadow did know that she hated that scar with a burning passion._

Chapter 12: Prolonged Anger

When Meadow got back to the common room, it was relatively empty. Most students had gone up to bed, there were only a few stragglers up finishing homework or talking amongst themselves. Meadow was just about to head up the stairs to her dormitory to call it a night when Terence caught her eye. He was sitting in the corner chairs hidden by the staircases.

"Terence?" Meadow questioned.

The boy with light brown, taper faded hair jerked up. "Meadow, how are you? You look upset."

Meadow sank into the armchair across from him, sighing loudly. "Could I tell you something? Something you can't tell anybody."

"'Course," Terence said, puzzled. "What is it?"

"Earlier today, I went to the staffroom, to try and get a book back from my father," Meadow started, meeting Terence's dark eyes. "He was talking to Filch and Filch was handing him bandages and salve potions." She paused, letting the scene pop into Terence's head. "My dad, he said 'How are you supposed to keep your eyes on all three heads at once?' I think he was trying to get passed whatever's on the third floor on the right-hand side. His leg was all bloody and managed. . . he's been limping since Halloween."

"Hmm," Terence grunted, "That certainly is weird."

"He also threw the book at me, like he lost his temper," Meadow added, astonished.

Terence frowned, "Well, it's not like Professor Snape really holds back when he's not impressed by something."

"He's never blown up at me like that though," Meadow said, shaking her head. "I just don't understand. Why would he lie to me? Why would he try to get passed whatever it is with three-heads? Why wouldn't he just go to Madam Pomfrey to get fixed up right away?"

Terence got up and sat on the armrest of Meadow chair, putting an arm around her, "Sometimes, good people do bad things."

"Don't try and pretend that my dad's a good person," Meadow said hotly. "I used to believe that. But after this, how could I? You and Draco said yourselves, all our families aren't innocent. I'm sure my dad used to be a Death Eater as well."

Terence shuffled uncomfortably. "I'm not sure," he said finally after a pregnant pause. "I knew of some, but it's been a long time. . . most of us try to forget about it, to adapt into the world now. One without You-Know-Who."

Meadow nodded, grim and the feeling of hopelessness inked through her veins, forgetting that Terence once said that the War was far from over.

"Don't feel too bad about it," Terence said, giving her shoulder a squeeze. Meadow leaned into him, happy for the closeness and support he was providing her. "I'm sure Professor Snape has his reasons."

"Maybe," said Meadow slowly. "It's just difficult to see that there's this whole part of his life that I don't know about." It was one the first time of many that it hit Meadow that her father wasn't just a father and teacher. That he was once her age and he had a life before Meadow was born. It wouldn't be the last time that this information would sink in either.

"Maybe your Mum might know something," Terence's arm pulled her closer and she put one arm around him, letting her hand rest on his abdomen.

She moved over in the armchair and Terence slid down, squeezing next to her. Thankfully, the two were small enough where they both fit in the chair together. Terence put his chin on top of her head, holding her softly in his arms. Meadow grew lucky knowing that she was able to take a proper shower this morning before she left the Hospital Wing, not just a sponge bath that Madam Pomfrey had been giving her.

"Maybe," she muttered quietly. Although she couldn't owl her mother like a normal student, Terence's innocent comment did give her an idea to visit her mother and ask her about her father's past. In the meantime, maybe there would be something in that book she received on her birthday about it. . .

Meadow always did enjoy being close to someone. She loved when Daphne would braid her hair. She loved the feeling of being hugged and giving hugs; it gave Meadow euphoria over the familiarity. Not moving away, Meadow asked "Are you ready for the Quidditch match tomorrow?"

"Not at all," Terence said quietly, his jaw moving on Meadow's head. She didn't mind at all, in fact, the two leaned back in the chair. Meadow propping her head on Terence's shoulder, and his arm was around her shoulders, resting his hand on her left upper arm.

"How come?" She asked, equally as quietly, enjoying Terence's grasp around her. She felt at ease around him, like she could trust him despite not always being with him. It wasn't quite the same feeling Meadow had with Shane. Meadow thought of Shane as a brother, and she knew he thought of her like a sister. But it also wasn't the same feeling as she had with George Weasley—the butterflies in her stomach and her heart racing when she'd see him. It was different. It was nice. Like it was a place she belonged. The first time she felt that since she was sorted into Slytherin.

"Flint's been breathing down my neck about catching the snitch," Terence's voice was soft, as if he was nodding off. "Since Potter's been named the Gryffindor's Seeker."

"When did that get let out?"

"Just this week, suppose it may just be a rumor, but given Wood's face when he heard about it. I suspect it's true," Terence responded, his head growing heavier on hers.

Meadow's fingers laid on his chest and she wiggled her hand a bit, "You should head up to bed. . . Big match tomorrow."

"I wish I could sleep," Terence said, suddenly more alert, and he moved his head off hers. "I've been down here trying to get a bit more tired. Flint sent us all to bed early to get rest. . . I was wide awake in bed. This was the first time I felt even a little tired all night."

Meadow wasn't sure how to feel, knowing that she also had the same effect on Terence as he did with her, relaxed and not at all on edge or guarded. She lifted her head slightly and noticed the common room was completely empty now. Meadow swung her legs up, over Terence's lap and rested them on the armrest. She pushed away from him slightly, looking into his dark eyes with a pointed look upon her face.

"Still," she mumbled, "We should get to bed." Her mind still on that old leather-bond book.

"If you insist," Terence said, though he didn't move a muscle, allowing Meadow to be the first to adjust and stand.

"You really should sleep in your bed tonight," Meadow said pointedly as she swung her legs back over and onto the floor and made a face at the chair he was sitting on. She adjusted the sling on her arm, awkwardly standing up before offering a hand to Terence. He grabbed it and pulled himself up. "Good luck tomorrow," her voice was soft.

"Thanks," Terence's face was rather close to hers. "It's good to see you're out of the hospital wing; gave your friends quite a fright." He pulled her into a hug before disappearing up the boys' staircase.

"Good night," Meadow whispered after him before she, too, climbed the stairs to her own dormitory pondering what could be inside that book. She played with her necklace absent-mindedly as she watched him disappear up the boys' staircase.

Excitement and anxiety rushed through Meadow's body. That tingling in her chest grew, unsure if it was from the exchange with Terence, or remembering her birthday gift. Once she got up to the dormitory she'd immediately dropped next to the chest at the end of her bed and unlatched the buckles.

Except, something distracted her from her task at hand. A small, brown box with a green ribbon and a messy bow upon it sat on top of her trunk. Meadow eyed it suspiciously before deeming it must be alright since it made it this far into the castle. Undoing the bow, the ribbon fell off and Meadow opened the box. A pair of extralong, forest green arm sleeves sat on top of tissue paper. There was no note or indication of who they were from, but she knew it must be her father who bought them. The sleeve matched the Slytherin green house color, and Meadow immediately rushed to put one on. It had a thumb hole, which Meadow used to cover up her wrist even more. The material stretched across her arm like a glove. It was tight where it wouldn't cause any distraction of another sleeve waving away in the air. But it wasn't too tight where it felt like it was suffocating and stopping the blood from flowing down to her fingers.

The gift was clearly from her father. Granted, he would have never bought it for her if he didn't feel bad about something. And that something should be that he'd been lying to her for ages about Merlin's beard what. Meadow knew he wouldn't ever admit he was wrong about anything, but she knew this was his way of apologizing for throwing a book at her. It didn't sit right with Meadow, but the sleeve felt so nice on her skin, covering up her blemishes she was so ashamed of.

Leaving the one sleeve on, Meadow changed as quickly as she could—it still wasn't very fast, but it was improvement. Her mind switched back to the gift she had received for her birthday, _'Your Mum and I talked a lot about this day when you were a baby. . . I was hoping it was something we never had to give you. . ."_ There it laid, amongst the extra quills, ink, and parchment. The old, feeble box that held the book. Gently, Meadow picked it up and pulled off the top; she pushed away the tissue paper to reveal that old, dirty brown, leather book.

Dropping the box back into her trunk, Meadow didn't even bother to notice that Tracey was peaking her head out of the curtains, watching her. Meadow plopped down on her bed, shutting her green curtains around her, and pulled out her wand. Curious if she could perform the spell, to prove to herself that she wasn't as hopeless as she felt lately, she whispered loudly, "Lumos!" while waving her wand in a loop. It was one of the spells in their Defense Against the Dark Arts. Granted, Professor Quirrell never let them practice, as he was firm on teaching the class in theories.

The light was dim, and then grew brighter in Meadow's excitement. And then suddenly went out. It didn't matter to Meadow, however, as she was too excited that the spell worked. Very quickly, Meadow grabbed the lantern from her nightstand to use instead of her wand. She opened the book, the first page was a family tree, detailing her parent's parents and siblings, and their parents' parents. Well, that was on her mother's side. In small scrawled handwriting it read from bottom of the page up, so Meadow could find the relation of these people to her:

_Meadow Lilium-Beckard Snape_

Her own name written on the right page on the righthand side with a space next to her name, as if the book was waiting for another name to be put there. Above her name were her parents:

_Severus Prince Snape & Sadie Constance Beckard_

Above her parents' names, Meadow recognized those names at her grandparents, her Grandma Eileen, Grandfather Tobias, Grammy Lil, and Papa Jack. Grandma Eileen had died around the time she was four or five years old. Grandma Eileen's portrait at Meadow's home on Spinner's End looked at her disapprovingly. It might have been from Meadow's inability to pronounce Eileen, and therefore, called her Grandma Eli. Though, from what Meadow remembered, Grandma Eileen wasn't horrible, but wasn't nearly as nice or fun as Grammy Lil. Meadow's Grandfather Tobias, well, he was a scary man. Taller than Severus, Grandfather Tobias was very strict, and would always yell at both Severus and Meadow for one thing or another during their visits to him. There was a line from her father's name connecting to:

_Eileen Raven Snape (n__é__e Prince) & Tobias Aeron Snape_

Grandma Eileen always seemed disapproving of Meadow, but she didn't know why. Grandfather Tobias seemed to really hate her, still she was unsure of why. Quickly, she moved passed their names to her mother's side, where she had more pleasant memories of her childhood.

_Lillemor Evangeline Beckard (n__é__e Taylor) & Jack Carter Beckard_

Grammy Lil, a kind and sweet woman was very much like a mother to Meadow on the few occasions her father would take a trip and go visit Sadie's parents. But their visits were short, and fewer and farther between the next. Papa Jack was a kind man. He would sneak Meadow's little chocolates with a wink of his blue eyes and a smile upon his thin lips. Of course, Meadow didn't realize that those trips took a toll on her grandparents. Sadie was, after all, in a coma to the Muggle world. And unlike Meadow and Severus, Grammy Lil and Papa Jack could not speak with Sadie. They were Muggles. Neither which fully understood magic or the wizarding world. Both very willing to learn and be open-minded to it.

Neither one of her parents had any siblings. Of course, her grandparents all had lines and names above them, and the family tree continued for quite a bit. Names upon names were splattered across the pages, all which Meadow had never met, never realizing how large her family was. It would be interesting to go through all the names, but right now, it's not what Meadow was looking for.

Well, Meadow didn't exactly know what she was searching for. Evidence that her father was a bad man? Perhaps. However, as she started to turn the page, the book's pages turned all on their own, and Meadow was emerged into her mother's story.

_Sadie Constance Beckard, born to Muggles, Lillemor and Jack Beckard, on May 20, 1961. Sadie was an only child, her name meaning princess from a Hebrew origin. Constance is from the Latin word _"Constans"_ meaning constant or steadfast. Lillemor and Jack picked these names due to their struggles with Lillemor's difficulty of becoming fertile. They wished for a happy and healthy baby, and when Lillemor was confirmed to be pregnant by Muggle doctors, it was a miracle. During Sadie's childhood she shown she had a magical core from a young age of two. The first time she produced magic, it was very small and unnoticeable. Sadie made a hairbrush fall from a dresser. _

_The next time something unexplained happened to the Beckard family was during the summer when Sadie was seven years old. Jack was cooking burgers on the grill when a fire broke out. The fire was becoming larger before Sadie raised her hand and it immediately went out. This caused some confusion between Lillemor and Jack as they looked at their child. However, it all started to come together when Professor Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardly presented the three Beckards with a letter of acceptance and a long conversation to help Lillemor and Jack understand that their daughter was special._

_September of 1962, Sadie boarded the Hogwarts Express on Platform 9 ¾ with the rest of the Hogwarts students. She was sorted into Hufflepuff due to her personality and values. Sadie showed strong dedication to her studies and friends at Hogwarts. She became friends with siblings Amelia and Edger Bones, Winkus Oddpick, and Ted Tonks during her years at Hogwarts. Though, she was not unknown to have friends from other houses, these were the four Sadie would be seen with more often. Sadie was a Chaser on the Hufflepuff Quidditch Team since her second year. She later became the Quidditch Captain and a Prefect.. Scoring high marks in her O.W.L.'s, Sadie prepared herself to pursue becoming a Mediwitch. _

A Mediwitch, Meadow analyzed the word again. Her mother wanted to become a Healer for St. Mungo's. Well, sort of. A Mediwitch was a bit different. Mediwitches and Mediwizards were trained for being out on the field rather than being in a hospital. They applied critical and time-restrained care and treatment on the spot. The usual situations being Quidditch Games, Magical Tournaments, or other Wizarding Events. Meadow traced her index finger upon her mother's name. Information Meadow never knew about her mother until this point. She drank it up, feeling closer to her mother more than ever.

Sadie was someone who wanted to help people. To save people from their injuries. And now, Sadie was trapped in her own injury. Meadow turned her eyes back to the pages and read on:

_Upon graduating from Hogwarts, Sadie received her N.E.W.T.'s in Potions, Transfiguration, Herbology, Charms, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. Her highest score was in Defense Against the Dark Arts, having received an Outstanding and top of the class in that exam. While Sadie was studying to take the initial exam to enter a Trainee Healer apprenticeship, she also worked at the Beckard's family pub and inn, Beck's Pub and Inn. Most often, the customers and guests at the business were Muggles. There were a few exceptions, including Severus Snape, whom she later started a relationship with shortly after meeting him._

Meadow stared in awe at the book. Despite only being a year younger than her father, her mother never met him until after Hogwarts. The school itself had a number of students, but most knew of each other. At least, that was how Meadow felt. She knew almost all the Slytherins' names that attended Hogwarts, most of Gryffindors', and a large portion of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw despite not interacting a lot with those houses.

Meadow went back to continue reading, but the old book snapped shut, refusing to open again. It was as if had a mind of its own. Sighing, she looked at the book with a frown and flopped it over a few times. She tried to pry it open one last time before giving up for the night. She set the lantern on the nightstand. Carefully, she pulled her legs out from under the covers and tip-toed over to her trunk. Meadow replaced the book into the box and shut her trunk again.

When she got back into her covers, Bee jumped up and rubbed her head against Meadow's cheek. The girl's eyelids became heavier as she pet her kitten. Bee had grown over the last few months, still fluffy from her baby fur and curious as ever. She curled up next to her owner, listening to Meadow's breathing turned heavy with sleep.

-.-.-.

The next morning dawned very bright and cold. The Great Hall was full of the delicious smell of fried sausages and the cheerful chatter of everyone looking forward to a good Quidditch match. Meadow watched the students around her as she yawned into her tea.

The Slytherin Quidditch team was all together, eating their breakfast with very little chatter. Terence had bags under his eyes, looking very pale and sick; he had barely touched his breakfast. Across the hall, Harry was picking at his breakfast, which looked as equally untouched at Terence's. The Weasley twins were laughing with Lee Jordan, all decked out in Gryffindor colors. Most of the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were also sporting Gryffindor colors, most likely borrowed from a Gryffindor friend.

Meadow looked between her friends in Gryffindor and Slytherin, remembering she was torn between who to cheer for while she was dressing. Of course, it turned out, she had a bit of a competitive side that won. And Meadow had dressed up in her Slytherin colors, using layers to keep herself warm in the cool air that hit her face as she, Daphne, Theo, Gabriel, and Bhu headed out of the doors and towards the Quidditch pitch.

As much as Meadow wanted to head over towards the Gryffindor table to wish Harry good luck. She pressed that feeling down, staying still at the Slytherin table.

By eleven o'clock almost all the school was out in the stands that surrounded the Quidditch pitch. Many students had binoculars. The stands were raised up in the air, but it was still difficult to see the match at times.

Although Meadow chose to stick with Daphne and the rest of the Slytherins, she did smile at the large, painted banner a group of the Gryffindor first years were holding. It said _Potter for President_ with a large Gryffindor lion underneath. The paint flashed different colors, illuminating Hermione, Shane, Ron, Neville, Seamus Finnigan, and Dean Thomas.

The crowd grew quiet as Madam Hooch walked out to the field; she was refereeing. As she stopped in the middle, she held her broom firmly, waiting for the two teams. The Slytherins walked out first and Meadow erupted into cheers along the other Slytherins. Flint walked out with a large, sinister grin. Miles and Adrian walked next to each other, looking grim. Next came the third Chaser, Cassius Warrington, and two beaters, Niles Darker and Stuart Vanity. And finally, Terence, the smallest of the group of boys trailed after. The seven made a half circle around Madam Hooch and waited for the Gryffindors to come out of the locker rooms.

As they did, Oliver Wood led the group. Followed by Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, and Katie Bell, the three Chasers. Next came Fred and George Weasley. Lastly, Harry walked out, clutching his Nimbus Two Thousand with white knuckles. The Gryffindors filled in the remaining half of the circle.

"Now, I want a nice, fair game, all of you," her voice was hard and her eyes laid upon Flint. "Mount your brooms, please."

Once all the players were in position, Madam Hooch gave a loud blast of her silver whistle. She threw the Quaffle up in the air as fourteen brooms rose up.

"And the Quaffle is taken immediately by Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor—what an excellent Chaser that girl is, and rather attractive, too—"

"JORDAN!"

"Sorry, Professor!"

The Weasley twins' friend, Lee Jordan, was commentating for the match, monitored closely by Professor McGonagall. Meadow watched as the Snitch and Bludgers were released from the Quidditch Chest and at last Madam Hooch also took to the air.

"And she's really belting along up there, a neat pass to Alicia Spinnet, a good friend of Oliver Wood's, last year only a reserve—back to Johnson and – no, Slytherin have taken the Quaffle, Slytherin captain Marcus Flint gains the Quaffle and off he goes—Flint flying like an eagle up there—he's going to sc—no, stopped by an excellent move by Gryffindor Keeper Wood and Gryffindor takes the Quaffle—that's Chaser Katie Bell of Gryffindor there, nice drive around Flint, off up the field and—OUCH – that must have hurt, hit in the back of the head by a Bludger—Quaffle taken by Slytherin—that's Adrian Pucey speeding off towards the goalposts, but he's blocked by a second Bludger—sent his way by Fred or George Weasley, can't tell which—nice play by the Gryffindor Beater, anyway, and Johnson back in possession of the Quaffle, a clear field and off she goes –she's really flying—dodges a speeding Bludger—the goalposts are ahead—come on, now, Angelina—Keeper Bletchley dives – misses – GRYFFINDOR SCORE!"

The Gryffindor supporters loudly filled the air with cheers as Meadow and the Slytherins howled and moaned in frustration.

Meadow watched as Harry and Terence circled around the pitch from a higher altitude, scanning for the Snitch. When Angelina Johnson scored, Harry did a few loop-the-loops to show his support for his team, but Meadow's eyes were trailed on Terence.

"What's between you two?" Daphne whispered to her.

Meadow shrugged. Her and Terence's talk last night was great. It was comfortable. And relaxed. "I—I don't know. It seems like he's a good friend, but other times, I wonder if it could be more. He is a bit cute—"

Laughter roared in the air. Meadow and Daphne looked around. Pansy, Millicent, and Tracey were standing behind them. "That's got to be the best crack I've heard!" Pansy howled, tapping both Millicent and Tracey on the arms before doubling over in laughter again. The two girls joined her. "Terence Higgs? Oh please. He's not interested in you!"

Pansy's high-pitched voice immediately irritated Meadow, who cracked her neck to gain some relief from the annoyance. "And why are you to say he's not?" Meadow shot back; her lip curled up.

"Everybody knows that Higgs is just using you!" Pansy said, matter-of-factly, before acting surprised and putting a hand over her mouth. "Oops, well, now everyone knows." She let out a short cackle, "Terence is just getting close to you, so he'll get on Professor Snape's good side. Honestly," Pansy paused, trying to add a dramatic flair. "Why else would anyone be friends with you? You do know that no Gryffindor would ever be friends with a Slytherin unless there was some sort of benefit. Why else would they be friends with a Slytherin? Granted, not many here think of you _as_ a true Slytherin."

As the flame of anger grew inside Meadow, she turned around, looking back towards the game. Trying to do good on her promise to Dumbledore: to walk away from Pansy. Although, it wasn't quite walking away, Meadow did turn her back on the girl, showing that she was done with the conversation. Her ears rang with anger, and everything Pansy Parkinson was doing became about ten times louder.

"Slytherin in possession—Chaser Pucey ducks two Bludgers, two Weasleys, and Chaser Bell, and speeds towards the –wait a moment—was that the Snitch?" Lee Jordan's voice boomed across the stadium. "Gryffindor Seeker Harry Potter—a very talented first year, Gryffindor predicted to have the best team this year—"

"JORDAN!"

"—Sorry, Professor! Slytherin Seeker Terence Higgs both dive for the ball— Seeker Higgs being taken over by Seeker Potter—"

Flint flew in front of Harry, causing Harry's broom to be knocked off course and spinning Harry out of control.

"FOUL!" The Gryffindor supporters screamed enraged at the cheap shot.

Lee Jordan was dancing in the stands, just out of reach from Professor McGonagall as he was yelling obscenities into the microphone at Flint for being a cheat. Madam Hooch was angrily pointing and speaking to Flint.

"Looks like Madam Hooch is scolding Flint—as he should be ashamed of himself!" Lee Jordan said. "Free shot for Gryffindor against Slytherin! So – after that obvious and disgusting bit of cheating—"

"Jordan!" Professor McGonagall growled, after giving up trying to take the microphone from him.

"I mean, after that open and revolting foul—"

"_Jordan, I'm warning you—"_

"All right, all right. Flint nearly kills the Gryffindor Seeker, which could happen to anyone, I'm sure, so a penalty to Gryffindor, taken by Spinnet, who puts it away, no trouble, and we continue play, Gryffindor still in possession."

Pansy's voice entered Meadow's ears, "It's so funny how she thinks anyone would like her. The only reason anyone talks to her is for her daddy." Millicent's low laugh joined Pansy's high one. "You don't find that funny, Tracey?" Pansy said.

"I do—"

"Don't lie!" Pansy shrieked at the girl. "What did you say the other day?" She pushed Tracey.

"Will you just drop it!" Daphne turned around, anger seething from her. "We're trying to watch the game!"

"You want in on this too Ice Princess?" Pansy mocked her using the nickname the Slytherins had given Daphne due to the girl's ability to narrow her eyes and stop a conversation. "Please, tell me about why you befriended Snake—I mean, Snape."

"Sure," Daphne responded harshly. "Meadow's my _best _friend because she's not a wretched, spiteful, bloody mess of a person like you!"

"What's going on with Harry's broom?" Meadow yelled out suddenly, pulling Daphne's attention back to the Quidditch Pitch.

Harry's broom was trying to buck him off. It was zig-zagging through the air and making violent swishing movements which almost unseated him. But Harry was holding on with all his might, Meadow grabbed a pair of binoculars from Bhu.

"Slytherin in possession – Flint with the Quaffle – passes Spinnet – passes Bell – hit hard in the face by a Bludger, hope it broke his nose – only joking, Professor – Slytherin score – oh no..."

Everyone around Meadow erupted into cheers, as she watched Harry's broom rise higher and higher, jerking and twitching as it went. "What is he doing?" Meadow groaned to herself.

"Who? Potter?" Draco's voice said next to her, his eyes dancing with delight. "Can't even control his broom. Serves him right."

"What are you doing?" Meadow snapped at him. "Harry's broom was fine earlier in the game. Do you think something happened to it when Flint blocked him?"

"No way," Theo said darkly. "Nothing can interfere with a broomstick except powerful Dark Magic." His eyes grew almost black in color. "No student here could do it, unless they wanted to get caught of course."

At these words, Meadow used Bhu's binoculars and scanned the stands. Immediately finding Professor Quirrell staring up at Harry with unblinking eyes, his lips moving. Meadow rolled her eyes, Professor Quirrell was the DADA teacher, he was probably just trying to save Harry from whatever jinx was being used on Harry's broom. She continued back on her search and didn't have to look very far. Not five feet away from Professor Quirrell, her father was one row up, eyes not blinking and lips muttering under his breath.

"Why am I not surprised," Meadow exclaimed, her anger rising higher. She looked back at Harry, who's broom gave a massive, wild jerk and Harry came tumbling off it, barely managing to hold onto his broom with one hand.

"You shouldn't be," Pansy's voice said, which snapped something in Meadow as the other girl continued. "Honestly, why did you even get sorted into Slytherin? You should have been in any other house then here."

"Excuse me?" Meadow asked, her eyes blinking as Pansy wasn't making any sense.

"Let me spell this out for you: YOU. DON'T. BELONG." A smug look was plastered upon the girl's face as she crossed her arms over her chest, believing she 'won'. "You're just a traitor."

"Wow, that's rich coming from you," Meadow snapped at Pansy and stood up on the bench, so she was level with her. "Is there anything you're actually good at? As far as I can tell, you're only good at one thing: making a fool of yourself. How many times do you think about me, envisioning an argument in your head?" She shook her head. "It's pathetic, Parkinson."

"What's even more pathetic is you believing that Higgs would even want to date you," Pansy responded angrily.

"The Weasley twins are trying to save Potter—" Lee Jordan's voice yelled frantically across the stadium. "But Potter's broom keeps getting higher and higher! Best to drop back—ah and they did!"

Meadow laughed, coldly and harshly. "What's lower than pathetic? Oh, that's right, you are. Bloody hell, Parkinson. Can't you get a hint? Stop talking to me. Stop trying to make me look like the bad guy here. Just stop. This is absolutely ridiculous. You have no idea how to insult people, let alone bully people. Do you have any idea how many people think you're a blathering idiot?"

"I'm a blathering idiot?" Pansy shrieked. "You should hear what people say about you behind your—"

"I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS!" bellowed Meadow as she whipped out her wand. "Shut the bloody hell up or I will do it for you!" There was only one spell that Meadow knew of, _Petrificus Totalus_, a full body-bind curse that she read about in the DADA book. But it would do if Pansy stopped talking to her and Meadow could get back to watching Harry hang onto his broom.

Pansy paled at the sight of Meadow's wand, she turned on her heel and disappeared. Millicent and Tracey followed her. Meadow turned back around to watch Harry's broom continue to try and buck him off. She glanced through the binoculars at her dad again and saw Hermione's bushy hair shove passed Professor Quirrell, who went headfirst into the front row. Suddenly, a fire broke out by her father, who looked away from Harry. The next moment it was gone. But it was enough to break the eye contact. Meadow caught sight of Harry, he swung up to his broom and took off towards the ground.

In the blink of an eye, Harry clapped a hand to his mouth, as if he was about to be sick—hit the pitch on all fours—his broom darting off before landing a good twenty feet away—Harry coughed – and something gold fell into his hand.

Harry shot his hand up, firmly grasping the Snitch, and waved it above his head. "WHAT IS THIS?" Lee Jordan's voice screamed excitedly. "Potter caught the Snitch! One hundred and seventy points to sixty! GRYFFINDOR WINS!" The game ended in complete confusion. The Gryffindor supporters cheering and going wild and the Slytherin supporters screaming in protest.

"He didn't _catch _it, he nearly _swallowed_ it!" Flint howled at Madam Hooch, begging her to change her mind on the matter, still nearly twenty minutes after the game was called. However, the referee didn't budge, and sent the Slytherin Quidditch team off the field. Terence's head hung. Meadow used the binoculars to spot where the Gryffindors went off too, she wanted to congratulate Harry on his first game. She watched as Harry, Hermione, Shane, and Ron headed off with Hagrid towards the little hut on the edge of the forest.

"Blimey, Doe," Daphne's voice was small. "I didn't think you'd pull your wand on her."

Meadow sighed, expecting to get reamed from her friends. "It was bloody brilliant," Theo said. "Wow. I mean seriously. Parkinson finally got what was coming to her."

Meadow looked at him incredulously. The next few minutes passed by in a blur, until she reached Hagrid's hut where she knocked.

Shane opened the door and peaked his head around. "Oh, Meadow. Good—we were just wondering if you'd show up."

"'Course," she responded. "I had to come congratulate Harry." Meadow stepped inside the small hut. She and Shane joined the other four at the large table. "Nice job on handling that broom!" She said to Harry. "I can't believe you managed to hang on. Granted, it was quite stupid to try and jinx a broom during a match. As if the other Professors wouldn't have stepped in."

"It was Snape," Ron blurted out, eyes wide and on Meadow.

"Rubbish," Hagrid said. "Why would Snape do somethin' like that?"

The group looked around at each other before Harry's eyes landed on Meadow, he nodded. "I overheard him last night," Meadow said, and everyone's attention snapped to her. "He tried to get past that three-headed dog at Halloween. It bit him. . ."

"We think he was trying to steal whatever it's guarding," Harry added.

Hagrid dropped the teapot with a loud clatter. "How do you know about Fluffy?"

"_Fluffy?"_

"That _thing_ has a name?"

"Yeah – he's mine – bought him off a Greek chappie I met in the pub las' year – I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the –"

"Yes?" Harry asked eagerly.

"Now, don't ask me anymore," Hagrid said gruffly. "I shouldn' have said that. That's top secret, that is."

"But Snape's trying to _steal _it," Hermione insisted.

"Rubbish," Hagrid said again. "Snape's a Hogwarts teacher, he'd do nothin' of the sort."

"So, why'd he just try and kill Harry?" Meadow cried and Hermione was nodding along frantically.

"Exactly," Hermione added. "I know a jinx when I see one, Hagrid, I've read all about them! You've got to keep eye contact, and Snape wasn't blinking at all, I saw him!"

"I'm tellin' yeh, yer wrong!" Hagrid replied hotly. "I don' know why Harry's broom acted like that, but Snape wouldn' try an' kill a student! Now, listen to me, all five of yeh – yer meddlin' in things that don' concern yeh. It's dangerous. You forget that dog, an' you forget what it's guardin', that's between Professor Dumbledore an' Nicolas Flamel –"

"Aha!" Harry exclaimed jumping up. "So, there's someone called Nicolas Flamel involved, is there?"

Hagrid looked furious with himself. "Out now, all of yeh! I shouldn' have said that," he scolded himself. "I shouldn' have said that." He opened the door and ushered them out of the cabin.

As the group walked up to the castle, they discussed what just happened. Meadow quickly found out that Ron was pulled into this madness as well. Which, after being saved by him from the troll, Meadow wasn't too upset about it.

"I swear I've heard of Nicolas Flamel before," said Harry as they hiked up the hill towards the stone circle and bridge.

"It does ring a bell from somewhere," Meadow mouthed over.

"I can't remember where I read it from," Hermione added.

The three looked over at Shane and Ron who were whispering to each other about something. "Don't worry, we don't have a clue," Ron said with a shrug and Shane nodded with a grim look upon his face.

"Clearly it's something important though," Meadow replied. "Did you see the look on Hagrid's face? He was furious with himself for letting it slip."

"Whatever it is," Harry said finally and sternly, "We have to protect it from Snape."

The other four nodded in agreement. "We should figure out what exactly it is," Hermione said. "Otherwise, how else are we supposed to protect it?"

This was true. Whatever it was that Meadow's father was trying to steal, it had to be important and dangerous.

-.-.-.

Meadow bid farewell to the Gryffindors as they split off at the Grand Entrance, going up the staircases to the seventh floor while Meadow headed down the stairs to the dungeons. Upon entering through the sliding wall, Meadow was met with a gloomy atmosphere from the loss of Slytherin. As she walked further into the common room, she saw it mostly empty apart from a few glum-looking students in front of the fire. And then Meadow's eyes found one of the people she didn't want to see. Her father.

"Miss Snape," he drawled. "If you will follow me back to my office, there is an incident we must talk about."

Meadow narrowed her eyes at him. She lost any sort of trust she had left in him after today's match. But he didn't wait for a response as he walked past her, back through the sliding wall and into the corridor.

Begrudgingly Meadow followed him. They walked in silence as Meadow glared at the back of her father's head. It was not a very far walk, as being Head of House, their bedchambers had to be nearby their respected common rooms. It was just luck that her father had his office attached to his room.

"What's this incident about?" She said as the two entered his office. It was a quite large room. It had a cold fireplace, despite the fire being lit; beside it were two chairs. A large, dark stained, oak desk sat in front of a line of shelves that held bottles of what seemed to be random clutter. One shelf across the whole back wall contained a row of large glass jars filled with bits of animals and plants floating in potions of various colors. There were many other little glass jars filled with smaller bits of plants or just potions. On the left-hand wall, there was a door leading to his own private stock of Potions ingredients. On the right-hand wall, there was a second door leading to his private bedchamber and lavatory. There was also a round table with two chairs pushed against the corner closest to the office door.

"You pulled your wand on another student," Snape said seriously, looking cross with her. "Dueling and fighting are against school rules."

"I didn't do anything to her!" Meadow exclaimed. "Besides, Parkinson provoked me! Kept saying I wasn't a true Slytherin and anyone who was friends with me was to get onto your good side! Said I should go join the Gryffindors since I'm so chummy with them and that I don't belong in Slytherin."

He raised his hand. "Enough," he growled out. "I already talked to your friends, as they were very eager to jump to your defense."

"Then why am I here?" Meadow spat out hotly. Her face grew warm with anger. Anger from this conversation. Anger towards her father. Anger towards Pansy Parkinson and her tattle-tail, stupid face. "If there is no reason to punish me, then why am I here?"

"You cannot threaten another student!" The eldest Snape roared, placing his hands on his desk and leaning towards her, his face twisted in fury. "You will serve detention with me for the next week. And five points from Slytherin for your complete lack of understanding basic rules."

"BASIC RULES," Meadow screamed, crossing her arms over her chest. "And what of Parkinson? Does she get detention to for BULLYING?"

"Miss Parkinson is none of your concern," Snape spat out. He took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger, he was annoyed. Meadow knew that from his body language. He would always pinch his nose in frustration.

Meadow watched him, seething on the inside. "I don't want to serve detention with you. I'd rather face that three-headed dog that bit you," she finally snarled before turning on her heel and marching out of the office feeling like she won a price.

-.-.-.


	13. 13 Winter Holidays

**MERLIN'S BEARD. I have been trying to utilize the chapters I wrote before to stay relatively similar to the story I wrote earlier—for those of you who don't know, when I originally post a fanfic called "Baby Miracle" which followed Meadow's life from before Hogwarts (1 chapter=1 year older) and then during Hogwarts. . . IT IS A MESS! I think I tried to write the first two years from memory before I started using the books to follow more closely to the timeline and plot. Year 1 is horrible! So many things out of order or not explained. I think this has been the best decision for me to completely rewrite this fanfic and make it more cohesive and smoother. What a wreck of a story before now! So it may take a bit more time than I originally planned for to rewrite Book 1. I think I'm making a decent dent in this story for year 1 so far since I started posting in October! **

**I am glad to see an OG fan! Helloo! I'm glad you're liking this version better as well! I honestly absolutely love it as well, because it's nice to see that my writing has become redefined and civilized. Anyway- enjoy! **

Miracle

_Meadow watched him, seething on the inside. "I don't want to serve detention with you. I'd rather face that three-headed dog that bit you," she finally snarled before turning on her heel and marching out of the office feeling like she won a price._

Chapter 13: Winter Holidays

But, of course, facing the three-headed dog for her detention the following week was not possible. Instead, Meadow was forced to clean all the jars and bottles in her father's office. She was livid the whole time she was there. Meadow never did hear what happened to Pansy Parkinson, although, the girl did stay away from her now. It was rather nice to not have to worry about a comeback to Pansy's insults. Meadow couldn't believe she had thought of apologizing to Pansy to try and make up with her.

Since then, Meadow no longer had to wear her arm in a sling, and she wore the Quidditch sleeve during the day, making sure only to take it off once she was safe behind the curtains of her bed. She was able to catch up on her homework she missed, not that it was difficult at all. Meadow had an easy time in most of her classes; despite not being the best at Herbology, Potions was able to give Meadow a bit of an advantage due to the plants used as ingredients. Transfiguration became more interesting and Meadow really enjoyed those classes with Professor McGonagall. Potions was a class Meadow was having a difficult time being happy in, she did not want to spend any time with her father. In fact, Meadow had been skipping Sunday Tea for the past month. But she still excelled in the class, especially once her arm was free again, she was able to completely focus on getting everything perfect. Meadow refused to allow her father to say anything more than needed to her.

The other classes were a breeze to catch up on. DADA was all theory based, and Professor Quirrell only used the book for the students to learn from, and not actually practicing any of the spells he taught them about. Professor Flitwick offered for Meadow to stop by his office so he could go over the lessons she missed and what to focus on for exams. He was a kind teacher and Meadow took him up on his offer. History of Magic was still a bore, and not much had happened where Meadow couldn't refer to the book for the class, which is what she did anyway for her essays. Though Magic Theory and Astronomy were only once a week, Daphne took detailed notes, and Meadow went to see Professors Burbage and Sinistra, respectively. Both witches gave Meadow an extra week for her to finish her homework from those classes.

And at least Winter Holidays were approaching rather fast. Meadow kept up with her journal, jotting down Shane's absence in November. Wednesday the 20th through Friday the 22nd. Though, it changed from a half day on the two days to three full days. Meadow wasn't sure if Shane disappeared from the Gryffindor Tower on Tuesday night, as he still refused anyone to see him in the hospital wing. One of these days, Meadow promised herself she would stay up late and spy on the hospital wing. . . once she figured out the pattern at least. Curiously, she did jot down that Tuesday was a waxing gibbous moon. Meadow had Astronomy on Tuesday, where they were still tracking the moon cycle and starting to learn some of the constellations. Professor Sinistra had drilled in that they needed to learn the night sky in order to fully understand how they give effect on certain days. Thursday the 21st was a full moon. But to Meadow, it hardly looked any different than Tuesday's waxing gibbous.

Little did Meadow know; this information would prove to be useful in the upcoming years. However, being a first year, there's certain things that don't sink in right away.

The days slipped by faster and faster as break was approaching. The weather grew colder and one morning in mid-December, Hogwarts woke to find itself covered in several feet of snow. The lake froze solid and the Weasley twins were punished for bewitching several snowballs so that they followed Quirrell around, bouncing off the back of his turban. The few owls that managed to battle their way through the stormy sky to deliver post had to be nursed back to health by Hagrid before they could fly off again.

Everyone was excited for the holidays to start. The Slytherin common room had a constant roaring fire in it to keep it warm, and every night there was a new pan of hot coals in the beds between the sheets. The Great Hall had all its fireplaces going as well, giving off hot air and warming the huge room. But the rest of Hogwarts was cold, the draughty corridors had become icy and a bitter wind rattled the windows in the classrooms. Worst of all were the classrooms down in the dungeons. During Potions, everyone would keep as close as they could to their hot cauldrons as it was so cold down there, their breath would show in the air.

During the last Potion's class of the semester, Draco looked over at Harry with a sinister smirk upon his face. "I do feel so sorry for all those people who have to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas because they're not wanted at home," his voice full of faux sympathy.

Meadow, who was measuring out powdered spine of lionfish, stopped what she was doing to glare at her partner. Draco had become more unpleasant than ever since the Quidditch match towards the Gryffindors. He was furious the Slytherins had lost, especially with how Harry had caught the Snitch. Draco had tried to get everyone laughing at how a wide-mouthed tree frog would be replacing Harry as Seeker next. Then he'd realized that nobody found this funny, due to everyone being so impressed at the way Harry had managed to stay on his bucking broomstick. So, Draco, jealous and angry, had gone back to taunting Harry about not having a proper family. Little did Draco realize, everything he'd been saying to Harry, also hit Meadow as well.

"Say one more thing, and I will dump this whole potion on you," Meadow whispered to him and the boy shut up, realizing that she too was staying at Hogwarts.

Meadow didn't mind that she was staying at Hogwarts for the Winter Holidays. Not only because some of the teachers had to stay, but Meadow figured she'd be able to avoid her father easier and as much as possible. She didn't feel sorry for herself at all; well, maybe a bit. But it would be one of the best Christmases she'd ever have. Terence was staying as well, and he was the only other Slytherin who'd signed up. Meadow also knew that Harry and Ron and all Ron's brothers were staying as well, because Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were going to Romania to visit Charlie, the second oldest Weasley boy. She wasn't sure how many other students were staying, but she knew one thing: she'd spend time with the Gryffindors with or without Terence.

Once Potions was over, Meadow booked it out of the classroom, not wanting to have her father try and talk to her. Avoidance was something Meadow was great at. Or at least, hiding from it. However, there was a large fir tree blocking the corridor ahead and Harry, Hermione, Shane, and Ron caught up with her. Two enormous feet sticking out at the bottom and a loud puffing sound told them Hagrid was behind it.

"Hi, Hagrid, want any help?" Ron asked, sticking his head through the branches.

"Nah, I'm all right, thanks, Ron."

"Would you mind moving out of the way?" Draco's cold drawl came from behind them. "Are you trying to earn some extra money, Weasley? Hoping to be gamekeeper yourself when you leave Hogwarts, I suppose – that hut of Hagrid's must seem like a palace compared to what your family's used to."

Before anything else could happen, Ron threw himself at Draco just as Snape came up the stairs.

"WEASLEY!"

Ron let go of the front of Draco's robes.

"He was provoked, Professor Snape," Hagrid said, sticking his huge hairy face out from behind the tree. "Malfoy was insultin' his family."

Meadow heard her father's voice in her head echoing what he said, "Be that as it may, fighting is against Hogwarts rules, Hagrid." Snape said silkily, "Five points from Gryffindor, Weasley, and be grateful it isn't more. Move along, all of you. Miss Snape, if you have a moment—"

"Actually, I don't," Meadow replied sharply. "I have to get to the library."

Her father looked disgruntled and pushed his way passed the tree, following Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle, scattering more needles everywhere.

"I'll get him," Ron said, grinding his teeth, "one of these days, I'll get Malfoy—"

"I hate them both," Harry said, "Malfoy and Snape."

Meadow couldn't help but feel the same way. Draco had been becoming more intolerable, even to her.

"Come on, cheer up, it's nearly Christmas," Hagrid said, pulling Meadow from her thoughts. "Tell yeh what, come with me an' see the Great Hall, looks a treat."

So, the four Gryffindors and one Slytherin followed Hagrid and his tree off to the Great Hall, where Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick were busy with the Christmas decorations, swishing and flicking their wands as the ornaments flew to their spots on the trees.

"Ah, Hagrid, the last tree – put it in the far corner, would you?"

The Hall looked spectacular. Festoons of holly and mistletoe hung all around the walls and no fewer than twelve towering Christmas trees stood around the room, some sparkling with tiny icicles, some glittering with hundreds of candles. It looked fantastic in the room. The banters were changed from the usual Hogwarts crest to red and green decorated trees alternating with blue and white snowflakes. The bewitched sky was bright with snowflakes falling from it.

"How many days you got left until yer holidays?" Hagrid asked.

"Just today," Hermione said brightly, the train was leaving tomorrow to take the students back to Platform 9 ¾ for holiday. "And that reminds me – we've got a half an hour before lunch, we should be in the library, like Doe said earlier."

"Oh yeah, you're right," Shane said, tearing his eyes away from Professor Flitwick, who had large, golden bubbles blossoming out of his wand and was trailing them all over the branches of the new tree.

"The library?" Hagrid asked, following them from the Hall. "Just before the holidays? Bit keen, aren't yeh?"

"Oh, we're not working," Harry said brightly. "Ever since you mentioned Nicolas Flamel we've been trying to find out who he is."

"You _what?"_ Hagrid exclaimed angry and shocked. "Listen here – I've told yeh – drop it. It's nothin' to you what that dog's guardin'."

"We just want to know who Nicolas Flamel is, that's all," Meadow spoke up. "Harry and I have heard of his name from somewhere, we just can't remember where from."

"Unless you'd like to tell us and save us the trouble?" Harry added, looking hopeful. "We must've been through hundreds of books already and we can't find him anywhere – just give us a hint –"

"I'm sayin' nothin'," Hagrid said flatly.

"Just have to find out for ourselves, then," Ron said, and they left Hagrid looking disgruntled and hurried off to the library.

The five had indeed been searching books for Flamel's name ever since Hagrid let it up, because how else were they going to find out what Snape was trying to steal? The trouble was, it was very hard to know where to begin, not knowing what Flamel might have done to get himself into a book. He wasn't in _Great Wizards of the Twentieth Century,_ or _Notable Magical Names of Our Time;_ he was missing, too, from _Important Modern Magical Discoveries,_ and _A study of Recent Developments in Wizardry._ And then, of course, there was the sheer size of the library; tens of thousands of books; thousands of shelves; hundreds of narrow rows.

Hermione had tried to divvy up who should search what genre, but Meadow wasn't having any of it. Therefore, Hermione wrote up her own list of subjects and titles she had decided to search while Ron and Shane strode off down a row of books, pulling them at random. Harry wandered over to the Restricted Section, as he wondered aloud if they'd find anything in there about Flamel. Except, the Restricted Section was off limits unless you had a title of the book and a teacher sign off on that book. Meadow, however, swore she read Flamel's name in one of her books, so she pulled out her schoolbooks to skim through them yet again. Hoping she had missed something from the other twelve times.

Not ten minutes later, Harry rushed past Meadow, with Madam Pince, the librarian, brandishing her feather duster at him as she chased him out of the library. They had agreed they shouldn't ask Madam Pince for any help on Flamel. They were sure she'd tell them, but they couldn't risk anyone overhearing what they were up to.

Meadow packed up her things as well, figuring Madam Pince would be back to shoo her and the others out as well.

"Find anything?" Harry asked her as she walked out of the library.

"No, but I swear I read his name while we were here and not before," Meadow replied as the two waited for the other three.

"Possibly," Harry replied. "I remember reading about him too."

Meadow glanced at her wristwatch, "I best be going. Lunch is soon, and I'm sure if I'm seen with you four again, I'll be in trouble."

"See you," Harry said as she walked off. Meadow raised a hand in farewell and smiled at him. It was nice that she was still able to be friends with the Gryffindors, despite all the bad blood between the two houses. The Gryffindors, were at least, a bit more understanding of the slack Meadow got from her own house for the time she spent with them. Granted, Meadow's own friends, seemed to be okay with her spending time with others not in Slytherin. For now.

-.-.-.

After lunch, Meadow found herself outside. The cold air was crisp as she sat out on a stone bench. Thankfully, with Hermione's help, Meadow learned the spell to cast a blue fire in a mason jar for some warmth. It was peaceful and quiet out in the courtyard. Students were either finishing up their classes for the day and many others were packing for the train ride home tomorrow. This had been one of the first times that Meadow felt fully relaxed and no longer holding onto a bit of anger.

Of course, that feeling didn't last very long as a blond boy in Slytherin colors pushed his way out of the castle doors. "Been wondering where you were!" Draco's voice called to her from the door. "Come on, let's go inside!"

"I'm all right," Meadow replied, holding her jar of fire firmly in her hands.

Draco trudged over to her. "Why are you out here?"

"It's quiet," she replied, looking out to the big, fluffy clouds.

"It'll be quiet once we all leave tomorrow, come on you should be packing right now," he insisted.

"I'm not going home," Meadow blinked at him, her temper raising again. She thought about what he said earlier.

'_I do feel so sorry for all those people who have to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas because they're not wanted at home.'_

"I figured you'd come back with me," Draco said. "For Christmas at my house."

Meadow shook her head, astounded he could even say that. "No. Or did you forget, I'm '_not wanted at home.'_" Heat rose to her face and ears as her temper flared.

"What's got your wand in a knot?" Draco asked, disbelievingly. "What I said this morning wasn't directed at you—"

"That doesn't matter!" Meadow exclaimed standing up violently, still clutching her jar of fire, which had grown in size. "You still said it! You have no idea what you say has any effect on anyone else! You only think about yourself—and to try and bully Harry in any way you can. Why are you so obsessed with bullying him? You're just as bad, if not worse, than Parkinson having it out for me."

Her eyes were flashing in anger. She was tired of the fights, sick of the comments and aggression.

"Oi, just calm down—"

"Don't tell me to calm down!" Meadow yelled, her voice cracking. Her core was shaking with built up anger and magic straining to be contained. Everything she had felt in the last two months came rushing back: feeling sorry for herself after the troll attack, the betrayal when she walked into her father with a mangled knee from Fluffy, the disappointment from Slytherin losing the Quidditch match, everything that Parkinson ever said to Meadow, being called Snake, being lied to. Meadow felt her face contort and her lip curl up in a snarl. "Shove off!" She yelled at him. "Find yourself a new Potions partner! I'm sick of your constant snarky comments."

"Pansy was right about you," Draco's face was twisted in anger and pain. "You don't belong in Slytherin."

"Go on then and believe everything else she says about me!" Meadow spat, her hands clenched around the jar so hard it shattered, causing the blue fire to go out immediately and the cold air to rush through her winter clothes. "At least I don't let people walk all over me!"

It was a low blow, bringing that bit of Draco up. His father was very authoritative. At times, he was abusive. Most of the time, Draco could never be good enough. His face was crushed, he didn't say anything to her. Just turned on his heel and walked back inside, leaving Meadow alone, engulfed in her emotions and thoughts.

Meadow regretted what she said immediately and the fire in her went out just as fast as the blue fire, though, she didn't go after him. It would be too painful. In fact, Meadow sank down to the stone bench as tears fell from her eyes. She really needed to stop letting her emotions overwhelm her. Why was she feeling so run by her emotions?

-.-.-.

Meadow felt more refreshed and happier again once the holidays had started. She and Terence were having a great time hanging out in the common room all by themselves. They had levitated their mattresses from the dormitories and placed them by the fire. Because Meadow no longer had curtains around her, the only time she took off the Quidditch sleeve was when she took a shower, keeping it on during the night so Terence wouldn't see the scar. But the two had a grand time together. Terence letting Meadow vent to him about her father, Pansy, and Draco. The two laughed together as Terence had tried to teach her wizard chess, but Meadow was horrible at it, and the chess pieces all yelled at her to send another to go get destroyed. Something Meadow had a difficult time doing as she didn't want to send anyone off to their deaths, even if they were just chess pieces.

The quiet was nice, for the first time in a long time, Meadow felt as though she could breathe without people looking at her and whispering. Those whispers and stares bothered her a lot, more than she ever thought they would. It was one thing in Muggle school when she and Shane were considered the losers, it's a whole other thing when you're the daughter of one of the most hated teachers at the school. Basically, everyone had gone home except for Meadow and Terence from Slytherin, Gwendoline Hedgeflower from Hufflepuff, Penelope Clearwater from Ravenclaw, she was also a Prefect and had long, curly ash-brown hair with brown eyes, and Harry, Ron, Fred and George, and Percy from Gryffindor. It was a rather odd bunch, but it worked. Penelope and Percy talked a lot, as they were both Prefects and continued their nightly Prefect duties. Gwendoline was rather quiet, which surprised Meadow, but the girl did have a good sense of humor. What was the most shocking, however, was the fact that Terence was chatty with the Gryffindors despite their walls being up. Eventually, Fred and George came around and the boys were able to talk as if there was no bad blood between the two houses. Meadow started to feel glad that the Weasley boys stayed during the holidays; Ron mentioned that his parents and sister were off visiting his older brother, Charlie, in Romania.

Toward the beginning of the holidays, Meadow was able to order presents for Harry, Shane, Hermione, Daphne, Theo, Gabriel, Bhu, Ron, Terence, and Draco. She didn't know if Harry or Terence would receive anything but a few presents from friends, as Harry probably never received anything before due to the Dursleys, and with Terence she wasn't sure if his father ever sent anything before. Meadow felt guilty of how things were left with Draco. He had been one of her longest friends, despite their differences and spats before; it was eating at her. The gifts were all little things, mostly sweets. Hermione and Daphne were getting honey-colored toffees and chocolate fudge. Meadow realized that even with her two best girlfriends, she still didn't know everything about them; guessing and hoping that they'd like the sweets from her. She picked out Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans and a Chocolate Frog for Theo, Gabriel, Bhu, and Ron. She wasn't quite sure about getting anything for Ron, but she did want him to know she was grateful for him saving her during the Troll attack. It was still fresh in her memory that he cast the _Wingardium Leviosa. _She attached a small _thank you_ to his present.For Shane, Meadow got him a big pack of Crystallized pineapple and some Sugar Quills, as the Lupin had a sweet tooth and loved pineapple. No matter how much time Meadow was lacking in seeing Shane, as she still was having a difficult time of jumping back and forth between the two groups, Shane was someone Meadow knew she could count on no matter what. Even with his no-so-secret illnesses every month. No-Melt Ice cream and _Quidditch Through the Ages _was bought for Harry, as Meadow and Hermione discussed what to get him for Christmas together. She got Pumpkin Pasties and a pack of Quidditch goggle cleaning wipes for Terence. Lastly, she wrote Draco a letter of apology, included a picture of them as toddlers that she dug up, along with a large box of every kind of chocolate fudge one could imagine.

Meadow knew there were a lot of people she bought gifts for, especially since Shane, Harry, Terence, and Draco were more expensive than Hermione, Daphne, Theo, Gabriel, Bhu, and Ron. But they were all people Meadow cared about and loved being friends with them. Especially since Meadow didn't really have anyone to celebrate with before. Shane and Draco, of course, but without any siblings, it wasn't as festive as it was at Hogwarts.

On Christmas Eve, Meadow couldn't sleep. Even with being all wrapped up in her blankets next to the fireplace with Bee curled up next to her and Terence sleeping on his mattress across from her, Meadow was wide awake. Tossing and turning from one side to the other to become comfortable, nothing worked. She didn't know if it was from the excitement of Christmas morning tomorrow, or from something else entirely.

After what seemed like hours, but really was only five minutes, Meadow gave up and uncovered herself from her blankets. A walk around the castle seemed to be itching at her. She dashed upstairs quickly and quietly, not to wake Terence up, to throw on her heavy winter cloak and a thick pair of socks. There wasn't a point to put on shoes. Even if she was caught out of bed, there wasn't a punishment during holiday.

Meadow slid passed the door, carefully making sure Terence was still fast asleep as she dipped from the common room. He was, and Meadow found herself walking the corridors and passageways without worry. Although, she did keep to the shadows. It had been a minute since she had wandered out of the common room at night. Since the incident with Draco setting the Gryffindors up during the midnight dual. That had been enough adventure for Meadow, until tonight. She wasn't sure why that was, but she let her feet carry her away.

The castle was silent, as it usually was during the night. Unless there was a reason for teachers and caretakers to be awake roaming the halls, no one usually patrolled. Hogwarts was a safe place to be. As she continued to walk, she let her mind drift. _Where do the ghosts go at night?_ Meadow thought to herself. _Do they sleep or have parties?_ _Does Filch ever sleep? It seems like he's always up, you see him during the day and at night. What about Mrs. Norris? She's a cat—Bee seems to sleep most of the day away. Do they have some sort of magic potion that keeps them awake all day, every day? But if he would, then why does he clean without magic? Surely, he can't be a Squib? _

Without realizing it, Meadow stepped into a room. She blinked and took in her surroundings having no idea where she ended up or how she got there. The room was an abandoned classroom. Her eyes were somewhat adjusted to the darkness and she saw desks and chairs pushed up against the far wall, some stacked on top of each other. There was an upturned waste-paper basket and scattered quills and ink bottles. To the right, Meadow saw a magnificent mirror, standing from floor to ceiling with an ornate gold frame and two clawed feet. There was an inscription carved around the top: _Erised stra ehru oy tube cafru oyt on wohsi._

Her black eyes reread the inscription, curious of what it meant. Meadow looked at the mirror, expecting her reflection, but not seeing it. She stepped closer to it, still couldn't see her reflection until she was fully in front of it. Her eyes widened in surprise as she took in the sight in front of her.

In the mirror Meadow saw herself, she looked a bit older and had on a short sleeved Slytherin Chaser uniform, her left arm was bare and smooth- no scar in sight. She was holding up the Quidditch Cup with a beaming smile upon her face with one hand waving it in the air and with the other she was holding up a plaque. It was made of a dark wood with a large bronze cauldron and the words: _Potions Master 1995. The Daily Prophet_ was framed and hung on a wall behind her: World's _Youngest Potions Master Ever: Meadow Snape!_ The Title said.

She couldn't believe her eyes. Was this the future? In four years, could she be recognized as the World's youngest potions master? Meadow stared at the mirror for quite some time, longing for her arm to be smooth.

A loud bang woke Meadow up from her trance of staring at the mirror and the vision of her. When she tore her eyes away from the mirror, she realized how late it actually was; the sun's rays were lightening the grounds that were seen from the window in the room Meadow didn't notice before. Jumping to her feet she looked at the mirror one last time. Meadow studied her face and noticed that her smile was genuine and happy.

Another bang echoed in the halls, this time closer and Meadow rushed out of the room and into the shadows. At least this way, she'd be able to run. Her eyes were sharp and her whole body trembled on high alert. Suddenly, Meadow caught sight of a colorful, ghostly form of a man. Peeves. Meadow hid behind a tall suit of armor, under the cloak of the dark shadows.

Peeves was cackling to himself, a large grin upon his face as he was happy with the ruckus he was causing in his night. Meadow slowly and carefully raised the hood of her robe, she knew her hair was light, and if anything would give her away in the shadows, it would be the blonde curls. Trying not to breath heavily, Meadow watched the poltergeist bounce happily off the ceilings before disappearing around a corner. Meadow let out a long breath and glanced around. She had no idea where she was.

-.-.-

When Meadow finally found her way back to the Slytherin common room, there was a pile of presents at the end of hers and Terence's make-shift beds in front of the fireplace. She squealed in delight, waking up the second year and he blinked his eyes blearily.

"Wha-?" he asked, his voice deep with sleep.

"Presents!" Meadow exclaimed. "Happy Christmas, Terence!"

"You too," Terence replied, rubbing his eyes awake. What he wasn't expecting was Meadow to throw herself at him, landing on his mattress in a tumble and hugging him. "Oi!" He let out, shocked. "Good morning, why are you so awake?" He laughed.

"It's Christmas!" Meadow really had no idea why she was full of energy, given she had been up the whole night.

"Barely!" He teased her as he pushed her off him. Terence's dark eyes glanced out the windows that covered the outer wall of the common room. Despite being under the Black Lake where their views were of the water creatures that lived in the lake, he could still tell that it was early morning. "How bloody early do you get up?"

Meadow shrugged and jumped from his mattress to hers, causing Bee to jump up hissing at her. The two busied themselves with opening their presents. She ripped into the first package, _To Meadow, From Remus and Shane, _it read. The Lupins bought Meadow a new notebook and a small box of pumpkin pasties. Immediately, she picked up one of the pasties and bit into it. The miniature pie filled Meadow's mouth with flakey pastry and a warm, spiced pumpkin inside. The treat was a favorite of the girl's. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had pooled together and given her a set of charcoal pencils and a sketch book. Confusion crossed Meadow's face, but Hermione's small scroll explained that they had seen her sketching in her journal and thought she might appreciate art pencils and paper. Theo, Daphne, Bhu, and Gabriel sent sweets and chocolates, along with letters wishing her a Happy Christmas. A large package covered in wrapping paper contained homemade fudge, made by Aunt Cici, a present from Draco.

At least he wasn't too mad at her. Maybe they could talk when he got back and work things out. He was a good friend, despite his annoying habits and beliefs in blood purity. Well, the blood purity thing was something slightly excusable, it was pushed on him since he was born by both his mother and father, who's parents before them pushed blood purity on them, and so forth. Except, it also wasn't acceptable by any means. And the way Draco held himself, like he was untouchable. That was annoying too. Overall, the short version of this debate in Meadow's head was that there are pros and cons to Draco. And currently, there seemed to be more cons to be friends with the boy.

The last present Meadow opened was a package non-mistakeably from her father. Inside it contained more pumpkin pasties, new socks, and the books _Goshawk's Guide to Herbology_ by Goshawk and _Book of Potions_ by Zygmunt Budge. She wasn't surprised that he bought her practical gifts, he did know she struggled slightly in Herbology, so he probably got it for her to try and spike her interest more. Meadow and her father didn't often celebrate Christmas because they'd go and visit her mother. Severus said that Christmas didn't feel right without Sadie. Meadow agreed, but she didn't know what else Christmas was supposed to feel like.

Happy with her gifts, she beamed at Terence who thanked her for his Christmas present, going scarlet as he realized he didn't get anything for her. Meadow waved him away, telling him she wasn't even sure what to get for him and he could make it up to her next year.

The image from the Mirror still swam in her head as she went on with her day.

-.-.-

Meadow woke up shortly before dinner feeling refreshed as she didn't sleep during the night. The fire from was warm on her face and Bee was purring curled up against her side. As she sat up, she saw that Terence wasn't in the room. Looking around, Meadow shrugged and headed up to her dormitory bathroom to get washed up and changed for the Christmas dinner. Dinner was held early today, they had a mid-morning breakfast and now, around three o'clock was dinner.

The two Slytherins headed to the Great Hall together, where they joined the five Gryffindors, one Ravenclaw, one Hufflepuff, Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Flitwick, and Sprout, and Hagrid. Fifteen people sat close together, as the students were at one table perpendicular to the teacher's table, which had moved closer and onto the lower level with the rest of the tables. Though all the house tables remained where they were, they had been pushed back a few feet for the teacher's table to line up perpendicular to the two middle parallel tables. Though, it didn't matter much as Professor Dumbledore sat in the middle of the right table, Professor McGonagall to his right and Professor Flitwick to his left. Next to McGonagall sat Hagrid and on the other side of Flitwick was Sprout and Snape. Everyone else had already arrived before Meadow and Terence.

Gwendoline, the Hufflepuff, sat towards the front of the table, closest to Professor Flitwick and Sprout. Across from her was Penelope Clearwater, the Ravenclaw, next to Percy Weasley. Fred was across from Percy, next to Gwendoline, with George right next to him. Across from George, next to Percy, was Ron and then Harry. Meadow settled herself down next to George, who's eyes were twinkling in the light at her, across from Harry, and Terence sat next to her. Dumbledore beamed at them all once the two Slytherins sat down.

"Happy Christmas!" He said and waved his wand.

Christmas dinner filled the Great Hall with a delightful smell. Fat, roast turkeys appeared every few meters. Mountains of roast and boiled potatoes, platters of fat chipolatas, tureens of buttered peas, silver boats of thick, rich gravy and cranberry sauce – and stacks of wizard crackers every few feet along the table. These crackers were nothing like the feeble Muggle ones Meadow exchanged at primary school with the other children, with their little plastic toys and their flimsy paper hats. Meadow pulled a wizard cracker with Terence and it didn't just bang, it went off with a blast like a cannon and engulfed them all in a cloud of red smoke, while from the inside exploded a small, golden-like telescope with several live, white mice. Harry's eyes went wide, and he and Fred let off a second wizard cracker, this one letting out a cloud of blue smoke, a rear-admiral's hat, and more live, white mice. At the teacher's table, Dumbledore swapped his pointed wizard's hat for a flowered bonnet and was chuckling merrily at a joke Professor Flitwick had just read him.

It was quite a time to be at Hogwarts, after the main course, flaming Christmas puddings and cakes appeared. Percy nearly broke his teeth on a silver Sickle embedded in his slice. Meadow watched happily as Hagrid got redder and redder in the face as he called for more wine, finally kissing Professor McGonagall on the cheek, who, to Meadow's amazement, giggled and blushed, her top hat lop-sided. Professors Sprout and Snape were engaged in a rather odd conversation, Sprout looked red and happy in the face, she too, must be drinking some wine. Where Meadow's father was looking rather amused at the slightly tipsy Professor Sprout.

Percy and Penelope were happily chatting with Gwendoline. Fred and George were talking in a hushed whisper as they kept opening the wizard crackers. Harry and Ron laughing and smiling at the wizard crackers. Meadow met Terence's eyes, he too, was having fun and filled himself with the splendid treats prepared for them. Much to her surprise, she felt George's hand on her knee, he gave a quick squeeze before pulling away. Meadow blushed, maybe he does care for her.

When the students got up from their seats, arms full of unopened wizard crackers, sickles collected from the puddings and cakes, and other things that were gifted from the crackers, the food was cleared leaving the golden goblets and plates empty once more. She had a feeling that the white mice that had disappeared from the hall would become Mrs. Norris' Christmas dinner, and probably Bee's as well.

"Meadow," a voice called to her, holding her back as she watched the rest of the students leave the Great Hall.

Pursing her lips, she turned around and walked towards her father. "Yes?" she questioned, still unhappy with being in his presence.

"I am planning on making a trip to visit Mum," he said quietly, clearing his throat as if he was uncomfortable.

Though excitement surged through her body, Meadow narrowed her eyes at him and tightened her mouth as hard as she could, "When?"

"Tomorrow," Severus responded. "You are more than welcome to come with. I am leaving at eleven o'clock in the morning."

"I'll think about it," Meadow said slowly.

He sighed, "Mum would be upset if you didn't visit."

Meadow sucked in a deep breath and let it out in a three-count. "Fine," she said firmly. "I'll go, but on one condition—" she paused waiting for him to ask what it was, but Severus stayed quiet, "—I want to visit alone. I don't want you with me. You can have your time, and then I'll have mine."

Her father nodded curtly, accepting this before he turned back towards the other teachers, taking a huge swig of wine as he did. Dismissing Meadow.

"Meadow," he said quietly just as she turned around. She looked back at him. "Happy Christmas, Flower."

"Happy Christmas," she replied and marched out of the Great Hall.

Her arms full of the stack of things she got from the wizard crackers, including a teapot set that magically fit into the teapot, chattering teeth, a magical toy whisperphone, and a box of stink pellets. Upon dropping off her newest additions to her presents, Terence asked if she wanted to go for a walk around the castle.

Once all bundled up in her warmest winter clothing, Meadow and Terence set off towards the grounds. "You'll be okay tomorrow if I'm not around?" Meadow asked him.

Terence let out a laugh, "Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

Meadow shrugged, "My dad said he had something planned for us tomorrow." She rolled her eyes. "I don't really want to be around him—"

"Eck, he's your father," Terence interrupted. "He's trying, isn't he?" His voice slightly annoyed.

"I suppose," Meadow muttered. "But that doesn't excuse some of the things he's been doing!"

Terence flourished his hands in exasperation, "You don't know what he's doing or why he's doing it. Instead of putting all the blame on him, why don't you ask him?"

"He'd never tell me," Meadow replied. "He's not like that—just because I'm his daughter doesn't mean he gives me a reason why he does what he does. I don't get any special privileges or favors from him; he treats me just the same or harder than he treats you or anybody else."

The boy shook his head. "Doe, listen. He's trying with you. Just be grateful you have a father that cares about you, no matter how messed up you think your relationship is—you got presents from him, he's taking you somewhere tomorrow. I've heard that _you've_ been avoiding him. And have been cold to him since you were released from the Hospital Wing."

Meadow fell silent, her cheeks burning in embarrassment and anger for being scolded by her friend and forgetting that his father doesn't even want him home during the Winter holidays. "I've avoided him because he lied to me."

"Except he didn't lie to you," Terence said as they walked towards the Black Lake. "You never asked him why he was limping or what he was doing. You overheard a conversation and saw his leg without knowing the context of that conversation."

"If I didn't know any better, it sounds to me like you want me to go make up with him," Meadow said.

Terence shrugged, his light brown hair catching the afternoon sun, making it look golden. "You have parents who love you and watch over you. I don't see why you're not giving Professor Snape a chance when he's been trying to make it up to you and talk to you." He paused as they came to the shore, the lake had been frozen over for quite some time now. The sand and rocks solid in their places, crunching with ever step. Students had created a path in the snow around the lake, mostly older students sneaking around to see their significant other. "He got you that sleeve before Christmas—I know you'd asked for one, you didn't have it before you got attacked by a troll, something's wrong with your arm—"

"—Nothing's wrong with my—"

He held up a hand, shaking his head, "Don't lie, Meadow," he said softly. "It doesn't take a genius to figure out that something happened where you wear that sleeve at all times around others. I know you sleep with it on too, in case you're forgetting, we did levitate our beds to the common room, so it didn't seem so lonely in the dungeons."

"You're right," Meadow whispered. "But I—"

"You don't have to say what happened, I just know it's from the troll attack," Terence said, looking out across the lake, his eyes in a faraway place. "I'm just saying, Snape is trying with you. He's trying to be a father, a teacher, and a Head of House all in one shot. Despite how difficult it is for you; think about everything he's trying to accomplish as well. If I had a father who tried to be in my life. . . well, suppose I wouldn't be at Hogwarts right now."

The words hit Meadow like a cannon, she had been acting selfish and angry. Terence was right, she had a father who cared for her and tried to talk to her. Possibly even try to explain things to her, if she didn't brush him off the last few weeks.

They stood there, in the quiet, for a while, observing the wildlife that flew, hopped, or ran around the lake and Forbidden Forest. Meadow did always love the outdoors with all the animals, but she grew out outside, all her childhood memories were either by herself or running off with Shane as she hid from Ms. Kashmire. She would have loved to have owned a rabbit when she was younger, and watching them now, hop around in the snow, she still longed for one. Their soft fur and cute noses twitching with all the smells.

Meadow wasn't sure how long they stood at the lake, though peaceful, she was starting to get cold despite all her layers. She met Terence's eyes and silently agreed to walk up to the castle. The snow crunched beneath their feet. As they grew closer to the castle, yells and shrieks echoed in their ears. Meadow perked up, she knew those voices. It was the Gryffindors', everyone, including Percy the Prefect who doesn't know how to have fun. Terence, who's face was still sullen, bid Meadow a polite goodbye as he left her with the Gryffindors and headed up to the castle.

She joined in the fun, laughing and rolling up snowballs. Throwing them at everyone, well, except Percy, he had snowballs from Fred, George, Ron, and Harry.

"INCOMING!"

"WATCH IT!"

"_Ronald!"_

"FIRST YEARS AGAINST EVERYONE ELSE!" Harry yelled as he gathered up Meadow and Ron. They lobbed snowball after snowball at Fred, George, and Percy without giving those three any time to collect themselves.

There were no winners or losers of the massive snowball fight, everyone was wet, cold, and gasping for breath as they headed into the castle. What mattered was it was the first time Meadow's wasn't thinking about much of anything except how much fun she had with the Gryffindors. Of course, that could have been from noticing George didn't aim at her often, and when he did, he'd wink at her with a huge smile upon his face. She couldn't help but remember that he squeezed her knee during Christmas dinner as well. Meadow found solitude in knowing he still was there for her; a skip in her step as she split off from the maroon and gold group as she headed town to the Slytherin Common Room, where all she could think about was getting warm, into dry clothes, and curled up next to the fire on her bed.

-.-.-


	14. 14 Memories of Thought

Miracle

_There were no winners or losers of the massive snowball fight, everyone was wet, cold, and gasping for breath as they headed into the castle. What mattered was it was the first time Meadow's wasn't thinking about much of anything except how much fun she had with the Gryffindors. Of course, that could have been from noticing George didn't aim at her often, and when he did, he'd wink at her with a huge smile upon his face. She couldn't help but remember that he squeezed her knee during Christmas dinner as well. Meadow found solitude in knowing he still was there for her; a skip in her step as she split off from the maroon and gold group as she headed town to the Slytherin Common Room, where all she could think about was getting warm, into dry clothes, and curled up next to the fire on her bed. _

Chapter 14: Memories of Thought

Terence was quiet that night, reading a book on his mattress in front of the fire as Meadow curled up with Bee on her own mattress. After grabbing a shower and changing into her pajamas, an oversized shirt and flannel shorts and bringing down a black sweatshirt, Meadow snuggled under her blankets cooing at Bee. Her large, pointed ears that looked dipped in black paint had grown even bigger, the fur had grown long, passed the end of her ears, coming up to a point. Bee was purring, and Meadow had no idea why that shopkeeper was so terrified of the kitten.

Eventually, Terence laid down and Meadow knew as soon as his head hit the pillow, the boy was out. His breathing got heavier and as Meadow checked, his eyes were closed and rapidly moving. The Mirror was on her mind yet again. For the second night in a row, Meadow carefully slipped through the wall and out to the chilly corridor. She didn't wear her winter cloak, instead she threw on the black sweatshirt she brought with her, her legs were bare, and her feet were sockless. Quite a different experience from the previous night, but she pulled her hood up covering her blonde locks. Still not having any idea of where to even find the mirror, Meadow set off, letting her legs do the work as her mind wandered.

Since Terence scolded her slightly and Meadow didn't want to admit she was wrong to her friend, she thought back to the conversation.

"_He's trying, isn't he?" His voice slightly annoyed._

"_I suppose," _Meadow remembered herself mutter, disgruntled about not being able to complain properly. _"But that doesn't excuse some of the things he's been doing!"_ Like trying to jinx Harry's broom during the Gryffindor verses Slytherin Quidditch match.

_Terence threw his hands up in exasperation, "You don't know what he's doing or why he's doing it. Instead of putting all the blame on him, why don't you ask him?"_

As always, Terence had a point, Meadow was at blame for not talking with her father and jumping to conclusions with the Gryffindors. But Meadow didn't think about that when she responded, _"He'd never tell me. He's not like that—just because I'm his daughter doesn't mean he gives me a reason why he does what he does. I don't get any special privileges or favors from him; he treats me just the same or harder than he treats you or anybody else."_

"_Doe, listen," Terence said shaking his head as his voice was very serious. "He's trying with you. Just be grateful you have a father that cares about you, not matter how messed up you think your relationship is—you got presents from him, he's taking you somewhere tomorrow. I've heard that _you've_ been the one avoiding him. And that you've been cold towards him ever since you were released from the Hospital Wing."_

Silence. From Meadow during that conversation and in her head as she remembered it. It was true, since she had been released from Madam Pomfrey's watchful eyes, Meadow had been avoiding her father and cool towards him. She darted around a corner and into the shadowed wall, the one away from the moonlight. Even with the cold air, Meadow felt hot from the adrenaline that was rushing through her body. The thought of being caught excited her as it made the Mirror even more irresistible.

But there was a lot of evidence, Harry's broom being bewitched, his leg mangled and bloody the week after the troll attack, the potions lessons where he bullied Harry… and the rest of the Gryffindors. There really wasn't a lot of evidence that her father was after whatever was being hidden, just the fact that he said, _"How are you supposed to keep your eyes on all three heads at once?"_ He tried to get passed Fluffy, that meant something, right? And the way he was staring at Harry during the Quidditch match, his lips moving and eyes unblinking. . . that counted for something, right?

Maybe Terence was right, maybe he did have a messed-up way of trying to be there for her. Another jump from wall to wall, hugging it as close as she could.

"_. . . he didn't lie to you. You never asked him why he was limping or what he was doing. You overheard a conversation and saw his leg without knowing the context of that conversation."_

"_If I didn't know any better, it sounds to me like you want me to go make up with him," _Meadow's response echoed in her ears. The annoyance. The anger. The frustration. All evident in her voice. Why should she make up with her father? She's allowed to be mad at him, she was her own person. Just because Terence's parents wanted nothing to do with him, doesn't mean that Meadow can't ignore her own. Besides, Dad would be much more tolerable if Mum was around. If Mum didn't put herself in the way of that duel she would have never been—

The thought hit Meadow like a pound of bricks on her chest as she stopped herself from finishing the thought. Her mum didn't deserve that anger. It was misplaced. In fact, it wasn't even anger. It was just frustration. The world was no longer the fair and just world Meadow once knew. It was ugly and mean. People bullied from teachers, from classmates, and from housemates.

"_You have parents who love you and watch over you. I don't see why you're not giving Professor Snape a chance when he's been trying to make it up to you and talk to you. . . He got you that sleeve before Christmas—I know you'd asked for one, you didn't have it before you got attacked by a troll, something's wrong with your arm—"_

"—_Nothing's wrong with my—"_

"_Don't lie, Meadow," Terence's voice was soft, as if he pitied her. "It doesn't take a genius to figure out that something happened where you wear that sleeve at all times around others. I know you sleep with it on too, in case you're forgetting, we did levitate our beds to the common room, so it didn't seem so lonely in the dungeons."_

Of course, he knew. There were probably others who figured it out as well.

"_You don't have to say anything, I just know it's from the troll attack," _Meadow remembered that look on Terence's face, the distance of what he was looking at and what he was truly seeing. She realized that despite all the talks she and Terence had; Meadow really didn't know much about him.

Did she know anything about her friends?

Meadow brushed that thought away, of course, she knew her friends. Maybe not Ron, Bhu, and Gabriel as well as Harry, Shane, Hermione, Daphne, and Theo, but she knew her friends. And she definitely knew Shane like the creases in her palm.

"_I'm just saying, Snape is trying with you. He's trying to be a father, a teacher, and a Head of House all in one shot. Despite how difficult it is for you; think about everything he's trying to accomplish as well. If I had a father who tried to be in my life. . . well, suppose I wouldn't be at Hogwarts right now." _The words took a second shot at Meadow for the day.

"AAAHHHHH!" an anguished howl filled Meadow's ears. A piercing, blood-curdling scream echoed in the corridors, and then it became slightly softer, but still just as pain-filled.

Meadow's eyes went wide as she looked around the corridor. That scream was from nearby. Frozen in place, she blinked around at her surroundings. She was by the library. Shuffling from the right had Meadow snap into action as she hid in the shadows of a large suit of armor. Filch streaked down the hallway, not noticing her, towards the source of the sound. His yellow eyes large and bloodshot, an angry expression on his face, the permanent scowl on his face even deeper in the night. As Filch's footsteps faded, smaller, rushed footsteps came towards her.

Cautiously, Meadow peeked out from behind the suit of armor and something, _invisible, _collided into her, sending her sprawling backwards. Making yet another racket which was sure to get the attention of Filch who had disappeared into the library.

With her vision blurred, Meadow felt something being thrown around her as she was pulled up to her feet and dragged behind the suit of armor. A hand was clamped firmly over her mouth to muffle her potential scream. She couldn't even think to scream, just froze as she was manhandled into the shadows under something silky.

Slowly, the hand removed itself from over her mouth and the second turned her around. Harry. Meadow let out a breath in relief. But she held it again as she heard Filch's voice right behind her.

"You asked me to come directly to you, Professor, if anyone was wandering around at night, and somebody's been in the library—Restricted Section," Filch said, his voice low and hoarse, it was as though he hadn't just been sprinting down the corridor moments ago. He must have known a short cut.

Blood drained from her face as she heard her father's voice reply, "The Restricted Section? Well, they can't be far, we'll catch them."

Harry put a finger to his lips, motioning to Meadow to stay quiet. He put his hands on her biceps and pushed her forward very slowly. The corridor was narrow, and they had to be very careful not to bump into the two adults who were moving towards them. A few meters away, a door stood ajar to their lefts and Meadow pointed at it for Harry to see. Very slowly, the two moved forward and inched into the room without Filch or Snape noticing. They walked past the door and Meadow let out a second, deep breath that she was holding. Harry leaned against the wall; a sigh left his lips. Filch and Snape's footsteps faded away and Meadow took a look around.

It was the Mirror room. The classroom was abandoned, all the tables and chairs were pushed up against the far wall, stacked on top of each other. The garbage basket thrown askew and scattered quills and ink bottles looked just as it had the night before.

Slowly, Meadow pulled off whatever silk material was thrown over her, by now, she had put together that it was an invisibility cloak. Despite that being impressive that Harry had one, the Mirror was pulling at Meadow's conscious.

"What are you doing out of bed?" Harry's voice snapped Meadow out of her trance. She looked around and couldn't see him. "Oh, right," he said stupidly and pulled off the cloak.

Harry appeared, black, messy hair even more unmanageable now, with bright, emerald green eyes looking at her from behind his large, round glasses. "I couldn't sleep," Meadow said distractedly. "When'd you get an invisibility cloak? Those are extremely rare, almost impossible to find, let alone keep up the maintenance for it without knowing advanced magic."

"Got it for a present, dunno who sent it," Harry said, looking around at the classroom.

"Weird," Meadow replied watching his face. "Couldn't sleep, either?"

"Trying to find Flamel," Harry answered, shaking his head. "I was looking in the Restricted Section in the library, but one of the books—it just started screaming."

"It was you I heard!" Meadow exclaimed, a smirk on her face.

"Guilty," Harry said. "How was I supposed to know books screamed? I even tried to shut it and put it back, but it just kept howling away."

She shrugged. She might have grown up in the Muggle world, but she was no stranger to the magical world either. Many things happened without needing an explanation or second thought—because that's how it worked.

Harry glanced at the door nervously. Meadow's eyes looked over at it too, worried that somebody found them. "Do you think someone will find us?"

"I don't think so," Meadow whispered, though she too worried if they would be caught. She wandered around slowly before finding herself in front of the mirror again.

The image that produced itself was a tad different than last night, Meadow saw herself, she looked a bit older and had on a short sleeved Slytherin Chaser uniform, her left arm was bare and smooth- no scar in sight. She was holding up the Quidditch Cup with a beaming smile upon her face with one hand waving it in the air and with the other she was holding up a plaque. It was made of a dark wood with a large bronze cauldron and the words: _Potions Master 1995. The Daily Prophet_ was framed and hung on a wall behind her: World's _Youngest Potions Master Ever: Meadow Snape!_ The Title said. That bit was all the same, but now, she saw a very proud looking Severus Snape standing behind her with his hand on her shoulder. And her mother stood on the other side of Meadow, beaming and crying as her hand kept wiping away the tears of happiness.

Meadow's eyes bore into the mirror's image, how did it change? Why did it change? What does it mean—

"What's that?" Harry asked, looking at the mirror curiously.

"Some sort of mirror," Meadow responded. "I see myself in a Chaser uniform, holding the Quidditch Cup in one hand and a plaque that reads: _Potions Master 1995._ It's strange."

"I don't see that," Harry replied as he appeared behind her. "I only see you. Are you going mad?"

Meadow rolled her eyes, "Here, you have a go. I wonder what you see." She moved from the spot in front of the mirror rather reluctantly, her eyes on her mother, who was full of life, and urged Harry to replace her. "Do you think this mirror sees the future?"

"Doubt it," Harry's voice was breathless. "Dead people can't be alive in the future."

Meadow sucked in a quick breath, "You see your parents?"

Harry looked away from the mirror quickly and scanned the room. His green eyes snapped back onto the mirror and Meadow watched as his hand rose to his shoulder and swatted the air. "It's all in the mirror, Harry," Meadow said softly.

The desire she had to see her mother alive and apart of her daily life. . . she knew it must feel something like what Harry felt about his parents. But Harry never had the hope to see his parents alive, and Meadow did.

"Do you want to describe them to me?" Meadow's voice surprised herself.

As Harry pondered her question, she took a seat on the stone floor, it was cold and sent a shiver up her spine.

"Sure," Harry said and looked to the right of the Mirror, studying its reflection that Meadow couldn't see. "My Mum," he said with a sad smile, "She's very pretty. She has dark red hair and her eyes—her eyes are just like mine—" Bright green. "—same color, same shape. . . she's crying, but she's smiling too."

"I'm sure she's proud of you, Harry," Meadow whispered.

But Harry wasn't listening, he stepped closer to the mirror as he looked to the left. "My Dad, he's tall and thin. His hair is like mine, black and untidy. It sticks up in the back, like mine. He wears glasses, but more rectangular in shape."

Harry's nose was nearly pressed up against the mirror as he stared into the reflection. Slowly, his eyes wandered the rest of the mirror, drinking in whatever he was seeing. Meadow felt as though she was intruding now. But she didn't want to leave, she wanted to look into the mirror again too, to see her mum. Instead, Meadow found herself curled up on one of the desks that was pushed off to the side. The wood wasn't as cold as the stone floor, but Meadow brought her knees up to her chin and studied her friend.

He was quite scrawny, despite having better fitting clothes than the first ones she saw him in. The nasty brown color shirt that was at least ten sizes too big hung off him loosely on the train ride. The cargo pants, also dyed a nasty brown, were held up by a belt that stretched halfway around his waist. The memory came back to her almost instantly:

"_Do you mind?"_ _A boy with stunning emerald green eyes that stood out behind his messy, black hair. He wore large, thick, black glasses. _

_The Weasley twins, dressed in faded blue jeans and gray jumpers, were gawking at Harry before a voice called up to them._

"_Fred? George? Are you there?" Mrs. Weasley's stern voice rose to the compartment._

"_Coming, Mum!" They answered as their jaws replaced themselves, and one last glance towards the black-haired boy, they headed back off the train._

"_Not at all," Meadow's response came once the twins moved out of eyesight. She moved Bee from the bench, who hissed in response. "I'm Meadow," she said with a smile, trying to put on her best hospitality voice. "That's Shane."_

Meadow took a deep breath in before closing her eyes as she remembered that day on The Hogwarts Express. The crowd on the platform full of families bidding each other farewell and friends meeting up. The steam rising from the front of the train. The excitement and nervousness that Meadow felt sitting on the train as she watched it all happen.

"_Harry," he grinned, pushing his trunk under the seat and held out his hand._

_Meadow shook it, not needing his last name to know exactly who he was, Harry Potter._

"_Harry?" Shane perked up, looking less sick then he had been in the last few minutes, looking from the window at his father to Harry. "As in _THE _Harry Potter?" He shook Harry's hand vigorously._

"_I guess I am him," Harry shifted on his feet, displaying he was uncomfortable._

"_Don't bother him, Shane," Meadow said lightly as she looked at her friend. "How often would you like people gaping at you?"_

_Shane's face went pink with embarrassment, "S-so-sorry, mate. I just never thought I'd meet you." _Harry Potter was a common wizarding household name, he was The-Boy-Who-Lived and vanquished You-Know-Who as just a baby. It should haven't been a surprise to her that Shane knew who he was, given that Remus was a wizard too.

"_It's alright, I suppose it'll be a shock for most everyone," Harry's voice was even, almost like he didn't care, or he was good at hiding his feelings. Harry peered out of the window, looking at the family of Weasleys, all rushed in saying their goodbyes. _

"_Ron, you've got something on your nose," Mrs. Weasley said harshly, and Meadow's eyes also went to the family of redheads. The mom grabbed the youngest boy and began rubbing the end of his nose._

"Mum—geroff!"_ The youngest said, wiggling free from his mother._

"_Aaah, has ickle Ronnie got somefink on his nosie?" One of the twins said. _Meadow smirked at the memory, knowing she smirked then too. Just like back then, the thought of befriending the twins crossed her mind. Fred and George were good fun to hang around, despite Meadow never really talking much to Fred. The two were always in some sort of trouble for the shenanigans they pulled on other students and the teachers too.

"_Shut up," Ron replied, scrunching up his nose. _

"_Where's Percy?" Mrs. Weasley asked, looking at the twins. _

"_He's coming now," one of them said as the oldest boy came striding into sight. He already changed into his black Hogwarts robes, which were billowing behind him. A shiny silver badge stuck to his chest with the letter _P _on it. _

"_Can't stay long, Mother," he said, his voice as pretentious as he turned out to be, smoothing down his collar. "I'm up front, the prefects have got two compartments to themselves—"_

"_Oh, are you a _prefect,_ Percy?" A twin said, a great look a mock surprise on his face. "You should have said something, we had no idea."_

"_Hang on," the other twin said. "I think I remember him saying something about it. Once—"_

"_Or twice—"_

"_A minute—"_

"_All summer—"_

"_Oh, shut up," Percy said, rolling his brown eyes, as the twins burst into laughter. _Meadow felt a smile form on her face. It was a nice reminder that no matter what was going on, there was always a reason to find happiness and smile.

"_How come Percy gets new robes, anyway?" Meadow didn't know which twin asked their mother, as she couldn't tell them apart then, it was hard to remember who was who, or decipher which twin was which in her memories. _

"_Because he's a prefect," Mrs. Weasley beamed, her voice full of warmth as her eyes shown with pride at Percy. "All right, dear, well, have a good term—send me an owl when you get there." She kissed Percy on the cheek, and he left. She turned to the twins with a stern face, her brows pulled down and her mouth pursed. "Now, you two—this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you've—you've blown up a toilet or—"_

"_Blow up a toilet? We've never blown up a toilet."_

"_Great idea though, thanks, Mum," the other teased._

"_It's _not funny. _And look after Ron," she told them._

"_Don't worry, ickle Ronniekins is safe with us," one smirked and caught Ron with his arm, rubbing his fist on the younger brother's head, messing up the identical red hair. _

"_Oi! Geroff!" Ron complained and pushed the twin off, smoothing his hair back down. _

Meadow's face had a smile on it as she fondly remembered the train ride. Sharing food with the boys, their same annoyance Hermione and Draco, and getting to know each other. She felt like that was part of why Ron would still put up with her, because they all talked on the train ride.

"_Anyone sitting there?" Ron asked, pointing to the empty seat next to Shane. "Everywhere else is full."_

_When she, Shane, and Harry shook their heads, Ron sat on the bench, pretending to be interested in the world flying by in the window as he'd sneak looks at Harry's forehead. There was dirt on Ron's nose, which had turned from the rubbed pink color back to his normal freckled, pale skin. _

"_Hey, Ron," the twins stuck their heads in the compartment. "Listen, we're going down to the middle of the train—Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there."_

"_Right," Ron's face became even paler. _

"_Harry, did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley. And this is Ron, our brother," one of the twins said with a smile upon his also pale, freckled face._

_Meadow assumed that it was Fred, since he said his name first. When she looked at the other twin, George, he's blue eyes were on her black orbs. "I'm George, he's Fred," he said with his hand outstretched and a lazy smile upon his lips. _

_Meadow took it, a small smile upon her face, as a warmth spread up her arm. "Meadow," she responded as she blinked and looked away from his eyes, suddenly she felt shy. "And that's Shane," she nodded her head over to her childhood friend, his brown shaggy hair covered his eyes again._

"_Hello," was the quiet response with a timid smile. Shane was never great at introductions. _

"_Right, we're off. If any of you are interested in seeing the giant tarantula, come find us," George said, letting go of Meadow's hand and all the warmth dissipated._

"_See you later!" Fred added, waving as the two hurried down the corridor. _

Reminiscing on the memory of the first train ride to Hogwarts was one of the happiest memories Meadow had. When she started a new chapter of her life, one that was full of hope and happiness due to Hogwarts. A place where people came together. And it was like that for a long time, just recently it seemed to fall apart. Well, not the whole thing, just between her and her father. . . and her and Draco.

Meadow wished that Draco would realize how dumb he was being. Tormenting the Gryffindors was dumb. It was reckless and without any cause. Well, maybe some cause. . . Harry did embarrass him on the train. But this got her thinking, maybe it was time for her and Draco to part ways. For a little while.

Her heart gave a pang, Meadow wasn't ready for the break-up just yet. Despite Draco being a toxic person, she knew it was from all the shite his father was feeding him. She knew how he was acting wasn't because it was who he was, it was all he knew how to act when feeling intimidated. Or at least, that's what she wanted to believe. Meadow decided she'd ask for her mother's opinion on what to do about Draco tomorrow.

When Meadow opened her eyes Harry was still in front of the mirror, staring at it intently. Meadow wondered if she should open-up about her mother to him. But quickly dismissed that thought, it wasn't about her, it was about him. And knowing how much Harry had already gone through, it wasn't fair to put that on him. Besides, if Meadow was going to keep up the fake "Mom's at home," she didn't need anyone to know.

Granted, she was sure Shane and Draco probably knew something. They must have, Shane grew up with Meadow at Muggle school and knew she was being looked after by a nanny named Ms. Kashmire. And Draco probably knew too. The amount of times she had gone over to Malfoy Manor as a toddler and kid without her mother, it was obvious that he'd know her mother wasn't in the picture. Of course, there was also Neville Longbottom, who saw her at St. Mungo's when he was visiting his own parents. Meadow shook her head, Neville wouldn't tell anyone about her mother being there, he didn't tell anyone about his own parents being at the hospital.

Slowly, Meadow lowered her legs from her chin and shook out the stiffness that settled on her. "Harry," she called softly. "Do you mind if I take another look?"

"What's interesting about holding a Potion's Master plaque and the Quidditch Cup?" Harry's voice snapped. "I get to see my parents."

Meadow blinked in surprised, "I don't just see that stuff, Harry."

"What's more important than seeing my parents?" Harry questioned her as he stood up, his eyes were angry.

"Don't snap at me," Meadow replied, her own temper flaring. "You've been at it for ages."

Harry's nose flared, "What of it? You have parents. I don't."

"You don't know everything," Meadow snarled at him taking a few steps towards him. "Don't let the fact that you grew up at your awful Muggle family's house blind you from the fact that other families lost just as much or more than you when You-Know-Who was in power."

"And what did you lose?" Harry seethed. "You have your father, here, at school. And he's still trying to pull something from under Dumbledore's nose. And your mother? Why didn't you go home to her during the holiday?"

Meadow's jaw clenched. "It doesn't matter why I didn't go home," she replied finally, her eyes narrowed at the Gryffindor.

"Then what do you see in that mirror that's so important you want to take time away from me and my family?"

Meadow shook her head furiously, even though her anger was still evident, it fizzled down like a can of soda being opened, "This isn't you, Harry."

"Then go," Harry replied, his eyes back on the mirror.

"I don't think I will," Meadow said. "We don't know how that mirror works. We shouldn't even be here—"

"Why were you out walking around?" Harry asked for the second time that night.

"I told you," Meadow said, "I couldn't sleep."

"You were trying to find the mirror again," Harry said matter-of-factly.

"I was out for a walk," she didn't know why she was trying to hide the fact that she did stumble across the mirror last night. "You're being really aggressive, Harry. Look, I just want one more look at the mirror and then I'm going back to bed—stay if you want."

Harry's eyes peeled off the mirror again and landed on her black orbs. There was a change in him, "Sorry, I didn't—"

"It's fine," Meadow said. "Don't worry about it. . . It's probably just the mirror."

"Right, here—" Harry moved out of the way.

Slowly, Meadow felt her feet plant in front of the mirror and her eyes timidly looked up to the mirror, unsure of what she'd see this time. It was the same picture as earlier that night. Meadow was a bit older, holding the Quidditch Cup and Motions Master 1995 plaque. Her left arm was smooth and scarless. Her mother on the side, beaming and crying. Her father, a hand on Meadow's shoulder, looking genuinely proud as he had a rolled up _Daily Prophet_ was in his other hand. She studied her face more; her skin was flawless and clear. Her hair hung in loose curls that looked natural. And her eyes were lined with eyeliner. She looked taller than Meadow ever imagined herself to be, as she was the smallest in her year. The older version of Meadow had curves, and a nice smile with full lips. And her skin looked nice and tanned.

And that was when she realized that this mirror didn't show the future or any truth other than her own desire. She didn't want the scar on her arm, and the mirror shown that. She didn't like her lips, she thought her upper lip was too thin, and the mirror showed her with a fuller upper lip. Meadow wanted to make her father proud, and it shown that. She wanted her mother to be alive in the sense of awake and moving, living her life as she should, and the mirror did that.

Meadow tore her eyes away from the Mirror, her stomach sick. "Are you okay?" Harry's voice asked from a distance.

"I just want to go to bed," she mumbled, pulling up the hood of her sweatshirt.

"What did you see?" Harry asked, concerned. But Meadow knew all he wanted to do was go back to the mirror and look at his family.

"I. . . I saw my father proud of me," Meadow said quietly, her eyes on the ground. She didn't want to ruin the mirror for Harry. "I'm just going to go to bed, Harry."

Harry sighed, "Let me get you to your common room."

She shook her head, "No, no. It's fine. I think you should have some time with your family—you don't know when you'll see them next."

"I think it's time I turn in too," Harry said, walking close to her. "I don't want Filch to find you."

Without accepting her protests, Harry threw the invisibility cloak over her and pushed her out of the room.

As if she was on autopilot, Meadow moved towards the dungeons and down to the Slytherin common room. It didn't matter much if Harry knew were it was, not to Meadow. She knew where the Gryffindor common room was. "Harry," she whispered as they got closer to the wall that slid open. "I don't think you should go back to the mirror."

"'Course," he said, but she knew he was lying. What the mirror shown was too good to be true, and Harry finally was able to see his parents.

"Here's my stop," she said quietly. "Thanks for walking me back. Be careful on the way back."

"See you," Harry said and gave her a quick hug before he slipped the invisibility cloak off her. His footsteps quietly faded away as Meadow walked down to the opening of the Slytherin common room.

Thankfully, when the wall slid shut, Meadow saw Terence still asleep on his mattress. As she settled herself down into her blankets, Bee mewed in protest and licked her finger in comfort. That night she had a nightmare.

-.-.-.


	15. 15 Darkness Inside

**To make this short—this chapter took me SO long to write, I just wanted to get it right. After many, many rewrites and watching the HP movies to keep me moving—ENJOY Chapter 15!**

Miracle

_Thankfully, when the wall slid shut, Meadow saw Terence still asleep on his mattress. As she settled herself down into her blankets, Bee mewed in protest and licked her finger in comfort. That night she had a nightmare. _

Chapter 15: Darkness Inside

_Meadow found herself walking down a cobblestone drive. The uneven stone arranged in a pretty shell pattern. The sun was out, it seemed to warm up the crisp air of the autumn or winter morning. It felt like a good day was going to occur. A woman with a stroller was walking, dressed in jeans and a yellow and grey stripped jumper. She had gloves on. Meadow looked around, there were a few people out, a couple dressed in jackets sat at a café table, talking over tea or coffee. A waiter, dressed in long sleeves and a green apron was taking the order of an old, burly man with a thick mustache._

_Meadow felt like the scene was too perfect to be true. She kept looking around, trying to find something that was out of place, but nothing was. She looked around again, and the woman with the stroller caught her eye. That face looked familiar. She had olive skin, with a small button nose and bright green eyes. Her ears laced with piercings. And her hair was blonde and curly from under her knit hat. _

"_Mum?" Meadow called out, questioning herself. _

_Sadie looked up from the baby in the stroller, looking right at Meadow, but not seeing her. She looked back down at the baby in her stroller as she waited in line for the waiter to take her order. Meadow jogged over to her mother and looked in the stroller, not knowing what she expected. But there she was, a baby. A baby, no more than six months old, with wispy blonde hair, black eyes, a chubby face, and a grey knit hat upon her head with a yellow bow laced through the yarn. The baby was covered in a grey and yellow blanket, to keep her warm in the cool air. She stared up at Meadow with those eyes that were just like hers. The babe gave out a coo and waved one little small hand up in the air at Meadow. _

_Meadow realized that this was the first time she dreamed of her mother and her together as they once were living together. As her mother was handed a to go cup, steam rose from the small mouth opening, Meadow noticed a change in the atmosphere. It was no longer warm. The sun was covered by clouds, casting a dark shadow over them. A wind picked up, the trees around them shaking off dead leaves. _

_CRACK!_

_A witch appeared to the left of Meadow, dressed in all black with robes that billowed around her. Her light brown hair was whipping around. Meadow looked at her mother, who's wand appeared out of nowhere, the tea splattered on the ground, forgotten. Her mother had her wand up and her body placed in front of the baby. A flick of her wrist and a bubble formed over the stroller. Hurriedly, Meadow pulled out her own wand, pointing it at the threatening woman._

"_Hand over the baby, Sadie!" The witch called, a sinister look upon her face._

"_No! Severus wouldn't want this!" Mum yelled at her. "You know that, Hannah." _

_Hannah. A name Meadow never heard her father say at all. What was Hannah's last name?_

"_The Dark Lord doesn't know of her yet, but he will soon!" Hannah snarled. "He will want her on our side. When the time comes." _

"_I will not subject my daughter to your cause!" Mum screamed, raising her wand higher, positioning it in a threatening and defensive manor._

"_She will join. One way or the other," Hannah shot a spell at Mum._

_Mum quickly defended and returned the spells. Meadow looked helpless on at the duel, she didn't know any curses very well, especially not well enough to engage in a duel with an adult witch. She glanced at the baby, she was quiet, her eyes wide as she listened to the fight occurring around her. _

_CRACK! _

_A wizard appeared; his wand raised at the woman in black. "Surrender yourself! Or you will be subject to wizard law!" _

_Hannah cackled in delight. "You coming to get me? I'd like to see you try!"_

_The wizard joined the duel. Meadow must admit to herself, whoever that Hannah woman was, she was good at dueling. As the fight continued to happen, Meadow watched at her mother looked fierce, her blonde hair flying around her, the determined face she had. When suddenly, the wizard tripped and as he fell, he shot a spell aiming for Hannah, but instead, the line of fire being directly at Sadie. Hannah took this opportunity to send a curse at Sadie as well. _

_And in the heat of the moment, being distracted by the wizard falling, Sadie's guard came down. The red and yellow curses each hitting Sadie at the same spot in the chest and back, above her heart. The bubble around the babe shattered, and she started to scream. Meadow watched in horror as her mother's body fell, smacking the cobblestone in an unpleasant crunch. _

_The wizard, whom Meadow assumed was an Auror, shot chains out of his wand, which wrapped themselves around Hannah in a blink of the eye and her wand was in his hand. Despite being captured, Hannah was cackling._ _The crazed look upon her face was etched into Meadow's mind._

Meadow was sweating and breathing hard as her eyes snapped open and the common room filled her vision. Except, she felt paralyzed. Her eyes wild as she searched the room for anyone to help her. Flashes of her mother being hit with curses and spells appeared. And fragmented pieces of her mother falling onto the cobblestone, unconscious, with a stroller next to her.

Panic set into Meadow, as she was unable to move with these images flashing though her mind. Hannah's face appearing in the shadows. She screamed, trying to move her arms to wake up. To force herself up. But her limbs were bricks, and she felt trapped. Trapped in her own body. Looking out to the world without being able to move as these horrible images popped into her mind, haunting her.

Finally, something clicked and slowly, Meadow was able to move her fingers, then her arm, wiggling her toes, and twitching her legs. Meadow shut her eyes and took in a long breath, filling her lungs and diaphragm. When she opened them there was a shadow cast over her. Terence's worried face swam into her vision. He had a hand on her shoulder, as if he was trying to wake her.

"Terence?"

"Are you okay?" He asked, his eyebrows were pulled down, concern etched on his face.

"Mhmm," Meadow responded as she sat herself up. "Did I wake you?"

Terence shook his head, "I was awake. You were sort of, er, screaming. Er—I take it bad dream?" He stumbled through his words.

Meadow nodded, feeling her heart rate slow into a normal pace. "Real bad. I couldn't move—but I was awake. Or it felt like I was. Like, I saw everything here, I was here. I was paralyzed, though."

"That sounds terrifying," Terence replied, his eyes bore into hers. "At least it was just a dream."

"Yeah," Meadow said quietly, wondering if that was the feeling that her mom went through every second of every day for the last almost eleven years.

Meadow went up to the dormitory and got ready for the day, dressing in black pants, a green and silver stripped jumper, quidditch sleeve underneath hooked around her thumb. Meadow's thumb ring, that connected to her father's ring was kept on her right hand, heated up. Surprise crossed her face; she wore the ring so much she forgot that it was connected to her father's ring. Meadow didn't realize that he'd still use it at Hogwarts.

She took a last look into the mirror. Her blonde hair had darkened to a sandy color, her skin was paler as it wasn't getting a lot of sun lately. Her black eyes were just as black as before, nothing special happening there. Looking in the mirror, she questioned who she was. Tying up her boots as quickly as dismissing that thought, she headed downstairs as she was ready to have a chat with her mother.

Shaking off the feeling of frustration and annoyance, she bid Terence a goodbye as he had his nose in a book, a quill in his fingers, and ink smudges on his hand. He was doing homework they were given during holiday; there wasn't a lot of homework, but still enough to keep learning. Walking down the dim, drafty corridor, Meadow wrapped her arms around her as she played with the necklace that had a long chain. The necklace had a sister locket, the other sister locket upon her mother's own neck, and a small silver Lily that she received from her father on her birthday. It was the second piece of jewelry that Meadow wore all the time, to the point where she forgot she wore it, but felt naked if she wasn't wearing it; just like the thumb ring she had to communicate with her father.

Meadow entered her father's office, the large room had walls of shelves with bottles that held bits of animals and plants floating in various potions, a large desk in front of the shelves where Snape would grade papers, two doors opposite of each other, one leading to his bedchamber and the other to his private stock of ingredients. Closest to the door was a round table pushed into a corner with two chairs, and to her right a stone fireplace that currently had green flames licking up the wall. It looked no different than the last time she was here dusting off each individual bottle for her detention Meadow served for threatening Pansy Parkinson with her wand.

Severus was sitting at one of the chairs in front of the fireplace, a glass jar held in his hands that was full of a green powder, Floo powder to be exact. The steely expression upon his face was no different than any other day. "Meadow," his voice was surprisingly light.

"Father," she peered at him suspiciously from narrow eyes.

"Remember to say _St. Mungo's _very clearly, you know how the Floo works, you don't want to end up in a place you don't know," his voice turned serious as he held out the glass for her to take a handful of the powder, which she did. "No wandering off, no changing your mind once you get into the fireplace. I did clear this with Professor Dumbledore; however, it is against school rules to be leaving Hogwarts once you sign up to stay."

"You don't have to remind me every time we use the Floor network that I have to speak clearly," she dismissed him, he always said the same thing before they used the Floo. The powder felt fine under her fingers and she stepped into the fire. The cold flames raised goosebumps upon her arms and a shudder through her body. The cold was not as welcoming as it was in the summer due to the castle already being freezing. "_St. Mungo's!"_

The familiar feeling of her stomach being left behind as she was squeezed and spinning in the Floor network washed over her. Before she knew it, she shot out of the fireplace at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. The dingy, dirty-white stone room swam into her vision as she stood up, waiting for her father. The room that the Floo network was connected to was on the lonely lower level of the hospital that was shared with the morgue. Everyone else, who wasn't a staff member or visitor of a long-term resident, didn't know of the fireplace and had to use a different entrance on the main floor that was disguised very much like the Leaky Cauldron to the Muggle world.

When Severus arrived from the small rumble of the fireplace, he took out his wand and eliminated the ash collected on their clothes. The two walked out of the room, down the hallway, up the stairwell, and to the main floor in unison and out of routine. Violet was sitting at the front desk with her dark grey robes on over her black V-neck shirt she had on, just like every day Meadow saw her. She had an emblem embroidered of a wand and bone crossed, the symbol of St. Mungo's Hospital Staff. Her purple eyes were looking down at something she was writing, and her dark brown hair had been cut short, just under her chin. She looked younger than the last time Meadow saw her, possibly because she looked caught up on sleep and not as flustered.

"Hellu, Violet," Meadow said cheerfully to the witch.

The receptionist looked up with a twinkle in her eyes, she recognized Meadow's voice. "Good morning, Meadow," Her voice was light. "Happy Christmas."

Meadow smiled, "Happy Late Christmas."

Violet waved her hand to brush her off, "Better late than never. I assume you and Professor Snape are here to visit Sadie." She handed over the visitor clipboard and a quill to Severus.

He took it and filled out the information needed as Meadow responded, "Yes, we are. How has she been?"

Violet's vibrant eyes met Meadow's black ones, "She's been good, making a little progress like moving her fingers occasionally."

Meadow nodded, it wasn't much, but it wasn't like her mother's prognoses had much hope for improving. Just like before, Sadie was stuck inside her mind. This didn't deter Meadow from hoping that one day, just maybe, Sadie would snap out of it and wake. But the little finger movement was better than nothing.

Her father finished up signing in and handed the clipboard to Meadow. "I'll see you up there," she said to him. She felt his harsh eyes on her, but instead of making a scene, he turned on his heel and headed towards the stairway.

Violet watched the exchange with careful eyes. "First year still a bit of an adjustment?" She voiced softly.

Meadow rolled her eyes as she filled out her name, "You have no idea. It's been awful. You'd have thought that he would be more caring and concerned for me after the whole troll incident—"

"Troll incident?" Violet interrupted, shock spread across her face.

"You didn't hear about that?" Meadow asked, equally surprised. When Violet shook her head, Meadow explained what happened that fateful night on Halloween. Including how the potions lesson went earlier that day. "I'm just surprised that Dad isn't telling me the truth," Meadow finished after describing in detail of how extensive her injuries were. "He even refused to buy me the Quidditch sleeve at first. Like I want to go around parading the nasty scar I have from almost being killed. And on top of all of that, once I got released and went to the Quidditch match, he tried to curse Harry's broomstick! Of course, I can't forget that I tried to get Harry's book from Dad the night before the match, and he was talking about a three-headed dog on the third-floor corridor that's been forbidden 'to anyone who does not wish to die a painful death.' It's like he's leading me to believe that he's the bad guy here! And after everything that happened with Mum, I never thought he would be one."

Meadow sucked in a deep breath, surprised at how much she word spewed at Violet. Though, come to think of it, the witch did always seem like a sister to Meadow. Violet was there for Meadow while she was growing up, even letting her come behind the desk while her father collected his thoughts after visiting Sadie.

"Well. . ." Violet said slowly, deliberating what she was to say next, "That does sound like a bit of an adjustment from not seeing Sev—your Dad—to seeing him every day. I wouldn't be so quick to judge though, Meadow. He's got a lot on his plate. Besides, have you ever thought that your Dad is trying to protect Harry Potter?" Her voice dropped to a whisper, "He was a big part of protecting the boy and his family before you were born, and after, before You-Know-Who fell."

Meadow shrugged, "I thought of that too. Terence says I'm being too hard on him. I just don't know what to believe anymore. I'm hoping to talk with Mum alone today about it all. Just to gather my thoughts. I can't go defending Dad to a bunch of Gryffindors just because he's my father when I don't even know if I believe he's good." She shook her head. "It's all a lot. You and Terence say 'give him a break, he's got a lot on his mind.' But what about me? Don't I get a break from all of this? Why can't he just tell me the truth?"

Violet sighed, "I couldn't tell you why your father does things. However, I agree, you deserve a break as well. Maybe your Mum can help you today with figuring all that out. She is his fiancée after all." The witch gave a smile. "You have every right to feel the way you do: overwhelmed, upset, confused—all of those are valid, Meadow. Just know you can come to me for anything, whenever you need. Don't be afraid to send me an owl. I want what's best for you. I can't believe you were sorted into Slytherin, I always thought you'd follow after your mother and be a Hufflepuff."

"Dad thought so too," Meadow smirked, feeling like she was finally heard for the first time since Hogwarts started. "Even if he didn't tell me so."

"He's smart," Violet responded and put a hand on Meadow's, "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

Meadow chewed the inside of her lower lip, hesitating. "Actually, do you know anything about a Nicolas Flamel?"

"Nicolas Flamel?" Violet echoed; her lips formed into a frown. "How come?"

"Oh, it's just for a school project that Professor Binns assigned, but I'm having a difficult time tracking his name down in any history book," Meadow responded, trying to keep her voice indifferent.

"And Madam Pince can't help you?" the violet-eyed witch responded, narrowing her eyes curiously at the girl.

"I didn't want to bug her with information that seemed quite. . . well. . . stupid, I suppose," Meadow responded, fumbling for the words. "I know I've read Flamel's name somewhere, I just can't remember where—"

She was cut off as sirens exploded from the walls. Meadow flinched from the unexpected sound and looked towards the doors of the hospital. A thunder of footsteps erupted as healers rushed towards the front as three people were floated into the room, each looking increasing worse than the one before. Burns, bruises, blood, and bones flashed into Meadow's vision as each patient was rushed off towards one of the wards.

Violet jumped into action, pulling a clipboard out with a bewitched quill racing furiously across the parchment. She placed a metal sign that read: "AWAY FROM DESK. BE BACK IN _" with a timeclock counting down from thirty minutes.

"I'm sorry, Meadow," she said as she hurried from behind the large desk. "But I recall Flamel's name alongside of Professor Dumbledore's! You might want to start there!"

Violet rushed off towards one of the injured witches or wizards to gather information. Despite being a receptionist, Violet had a very important job of keeping records of who all came in and out of St. Mungo's due to liability issues.

_Professor Dumbledore._ Meadow thought as she watched Violet disappear. The thought hit her at once and Meadow dashed up towards the Visitors' Tearoom and Hospital Shop on the fifth floor. She grabbed her change purse and dug out as many coins as she could.

"How many Chocolate Frogs will this get me?" Meadow's voice rushed out as the coins danced out of her hands and onto the counter in front of the newest gift shop attendant.

A frown formed upon thin, tight lips of an elderly witch with narrow eyes behind large, flowered glasses. "No running," a snarl came from the woman.

"Yes, Ma'am," Meadow responded quickly. "But how many—"

"Three," the cashier snipped at her. Clearly wanting the girl out of her shop as quickly as possible.

"Three it is," Meadow walked as fast as she could over to the sweets area and grabbed three Chocolate Frog packages. Adrenaline coursed through her body as she hurried over towards a table by Loralai's set up. She dumped the frogs onto the table and with fumbling fingers she tore into each one, not bothered by the chocolate frogs that started hopping around the table.

The first card was of Adalbert Waffling, the famous magical theoretician whom rote all about magic. Meadow tossed it aside, it wasn't the card she wanted. The second card was just as much of a disappointment as the first, it was Gideon Crumb, the current bagpiper of The Weird Sisters. Meadow groaned, the thought of getting Dumbledore's card growing smaller as two of the three cards weren't it.

Taking a deep breath, Meadow ripped through the plastic wrapping of the final chocolate frog. Anticipation rising and making her body tingle with nerves. Once the plastic was off, Meadow carefully opened the box up, and a chocolate frog looked at her, its large chocolate eyes stared at her. "Shoo," she waved her hand towards the frog and it hopped out to join the other two frogs on the table, all ribbiting at each other.

A lump in her throat formed and she tried to swallow, only to find her mouth dry. This was it; this was the last card. She peeled back the small door that kept the card safe from the chocolate—

Only to be disappointed yet again. Rowena Ravenclaw sat waving at Meadow from her portrait. "Oh," Meadow let out grimly. "I'm sorry Professor Ravenclaw, I was hoping for someone else," she said to the co-founder who gave a grim smile and left her card, probably off to chat with Adalbert Waffling and Gideon Crumb who were also discarded.

Absent-mindedly, Meadow grabbed one of the frogs and stuffed it in her mouth. Looking at the Chocolate Frog Cards in bitter disappointment. Albus Dumbledore's card was one of the most common frog cards there was. Yet, of course, she couldn't have gotten him when she really needed him. What was she to do now? Now that she knew where to find Flamel.

A throat was cleared behind Meadow and she flinched in her seat. "Father," she said as she gained her composure.

"What are you doing?" He asked, his voice cool. "Mum's been wondering where you are as you're wasting precious time with her for Christmas."

"Right," Meadow replied. "I just got a bit. . . hungry," she said, waving the half-eaten frog in her hand.

"I'm sure Mrs. Smethwyck would have gladly made you something to eat," he pointed out, his voice gravely, referring to Loralai. "She does make actual food, Meadow," his voice was hard as he was disappointed in Meadow's choice in buying chocolate frogs rather than sandwiches wasn't already clear enough.

"It's Christmas," Meadow replied plainly and grabbed a chocolate frog, shoving it back into its pentagon box, doing the same with the last frog as well. She put all three cards into the empty box, might as well keep them and add them to someone's collection.

"That does not excuse eating sweets over food," Dad replied. "Your mother is waiting." Meadow gathered up her disappointment boxes and headed downstairs, Severus not far behind her.

Down the steps to the fourth floor, Meadow bobbed and weaved through the corridors towards the ward that held the long-term residents and spell damaged patients. The Janus Thickey Ward held Frank and Alice Longbottom and Sadie Beckard, the only three long-term residents whom stayed for much longer than anyone else. Meadow gave a small smile to Miriam Strout, one of the healers on the floor, she was always there.

Alice Longbottom wasn't out of her room, indicating that perhaps, Neville had come to visit his parents with his grandparents. The curtain was drawn around the room and muffled voices were heard, but Meadow pressed forward towards her mother's room. The clean, white linens made walls around Sadie's room. A wardrobe pushed off to the side, towards the front curtain to give it the illusion of a solid wall. A nightstand on either side of the bed, one of which, held freshly cut _Lilium canadense_ flowers in a clear vase. Dad always brought new flowers each visit or had them delivered when he could not. Meadow never understood why he didn't just enchant the flowers to never die. Her eyes flicked away from the vase towards the fluffy, green armchair sat next to the bed, where Dad would always sit when he linked cores with Mum. Meadow, however, would perch herself on the bed next to her mother, holding her hand for extra comfort during the link.

As Meadow approached the bed, she saw her mother laying on the bed, her eyes closed, looking as if she was sleeping. She sat on the bed and pulled her legs up to the side. Meadow took a deep breath and put her hand on top of her mom's hand. She closed her eyes and immediately felt the tug on her sternum, where her magical core had embedded itself into Meadow.

When Meadow opened her eyes, it was dark. She could barely make out anything, even when squinting her eyes to see. Slowly, her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting and she made out bookshelves against two walls. A fireplace with different colored bricks, and a wall of windows. The windows open to a backyard that was unseen due to the gloom.

"Mum?" Meadow called out, looking around the room.

"Meadow, Baby, hi," came Sadie's voice as she wrapped her arms around Meadow. "Happy Christmas! Dad told me all about how you wanted to celebrate with me. Did you run off and bug Loralai?"

Meadow laughed, "What makes you say that?"

"You're always off running around," Sadie responded, tickling her sides. Meadow squealed in response.

"Me? Never!" Meadow joked with her. "Happy Christmas, Mum."

The two embraced again. "Tell me all about Hogwarts so far," Mum said and led her to two chairs in front of the fireplace. "Start from the beginning—the train ride," she smiled at her daughter.

Meadow smiled back, happy to see that her mother was in a good mood asking about her first year. "Right," Meadow said, thinking back to September first. "Well, I actually rode along with Shane, my friend from Muggle school—who would have known that Shane was a wizard too! His dad drove us, Remus Lupin? I know I've mentioned them before—" Meadow looked at her mother and she nodded in response. "So Remus took me and Shane. It was loads of fun! Shane, of course, was nervous and worried about being away from Remus, but he had me so it made it easier! I met Harry Potter on the train," she paused, but her mother didn't talk so she continued, "I also met a boy, Ron Weasley."

"The Weasleys?" Mum asked.

"Yeah, Ron's the sixth boy. He's got a younger sister named Ginny, and twin brothers, Fred and George," Meadow said. "But Ron's not too keen on me. . . Not since I was sorted into Slytherin. But Harry's alright. He doesn't seem to mind too much. We get along really well."

"That's good to hear, that you're getting along with Harry Potter," Sadie's voice seemed distant as she spoke. "I'm sorry about Ron Weasley. His family is very. . . strong minded, always think they know best. At least Molly seems to think so."

Meadow frowned, taken back by her mother's tone of voice towards the Weasley's. "I haven't met Mrs. Weasley. But George, one of the twins, we talk sometimes."

"Oh?"

"He's nice, him and his brother, Fred, they like to play pranks on the teachers and their friends," Meadow said, unsure if she should mention her crush or not. "But being sorted into Slytherin makes things slightly complicated with befriending other houses. . . especially since I'm Professor Snape's daughter."

"Hun," Sadie said softly, "It's an—"

"—adjustment for him too," Meadow rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, don't get started on that."

Sadie sighed, "Alright. Tell l me what else happened. You've met Harry Potter, Ron, Fred, and George Weasley. You were sorted into Slytherin, surely you've made some Slytherin friends."

"Oh yes!" Meadow said excitedly, she wasn't ready to dive into Severus's past yet. "Daphne Greengrass and I are best friends. She's got her non-boyfriend-boyfriend, Theodore Nott. Then there's Gabriel Lithgow and Bhupen Shastri, all of 'em are first years with me. Draco, of course, as well. But he's been rather. . . er—intolerable lately. But that's Draco. A second year, Terence Higgs, he's nice. He stayed for the holidays with me. We're the only two Slytherins who stayed."

Meadow was so emerged in telling her story that she didn't see Sadie's facial expression change from admiration and curiosity to terror.

"He's got a rough homelife. All I know is that his mother is in Azkaban and his father is extremely abusive. So, he stayed at Hogwarts. He's the Seeker on the Quidditch team. Oh—Harry made Seeker as well. Professor McGonagall made an exception for him. Said to be the youngest player in a century!

"But that's not all, there's this annoying girl too, Pansy Parkinson. She won't ever leave me alone. Did you ever have a girl at Hogwarts who was just mean to you no matter what, right off the start?" Meadow looked at her mother, whose face was blank.

"Yes," she said. "Yes, I did. I'm sorry—you rattled off a bunch of last names I remember from school. Big families. . . trying to keep it in the family."

"What?"

"Nothing, Hun," Sadie said quickly. "Now about this girl, Pansy Parkinson. Sometimes, people are mean to others because of jealousy, others were taught it by their parents, and sometimes, it's because they don't know what else to do to get attention. All you have to do, is to keep being you. Keep being that sweet girl I know you are."

"Can't I do anything about it? How do I stop it?"

"By not antagonizing her," Mum said, clasping a hand on Meadow's. "You can't let your emotions get the best of you. No matter how much you want to punch her or hex her, you just have to let it go. A reaction fuels the aggressor. No reaction means no more action."

"What? You're saying that Pansy's doing this because I deserve it?" Meadow scoffed.

"No, Meadow. No," she said. "You don't deserve to be bullied. Let me explain this a different way. . . Pansy is playing a game. One she wants you to participate in. But you don't want to so you say 'No, I don't want to play.' But she keeps going at it, asking you to play, involving you in the game without your permission. After you've had enough of her asking you and bugging you, you scream waving your hands in the air 'I DON'T WANT TO PLAY!' You're playing her game, even if you say you don't want to. She wants that reaction from you, to show herself as better and nicer than you. Not only to herself, but to others as well.

"But if you don't react to her, she'll get bored and eventually, leave you alone," Mum said.

"You really think she'll leave me alone if I don't do anything?"

"Well, or you could join in with her. Making fun of yourself, as I assume, she's making fun of you about something."

"Yeah, Dad," Meadow responded. "She, er, keeps calling me Daddy's little girl and saying no one can do anything wrong to me because I'll go off and tell Daddy."

"How original," Mum said laughing. "There's nothing else wrong with you?"

"Hey!"

"I'm sorry, Baby," she said. "Just out of everything a mean, little girl could tease someone with, it's her dad, who works at Hogwarts AND is her Head of House?"

A smile played on Meadow's lips, "Well, when you say it like that it does seem a bit like grabbing for straws."

"Now, what are you going to do when she baits you again?"

"Ignore her," Meadow said.

Mum nodded, "Yes. What else happened? What's your favorite subject?"

Meadow jumped into telling her mother about the rest of her semester at Hogwarts. Sadie oohing and awing at all the right moments, asking questions when necessary, and offering feedback when asked. She jumped into the lessons taught, the friends she made, the drama that's happened. She almost finished when she realized that she forgot to tell her mother about the troll attack. When Meadow talked about the troll, she watched as her mother's face faked surprise and astonishment.

"Dad told you," Meadow said as she was about to mention the troll picking her up.

"Oh, you know your dad," Mum responded. "He came here when you were in the hospital wing. A right mess he was, thinking he lost you."

"Didn't seem like that after I was released from the hospital wing," Meadow scoffed. "He's been really hard on me. Like he doesn't even want to be in the same room as me."

There was a pause and then Meadow added, "Speaking of Dad. I was wondering how you two met? Did you meet at school? How did you know he was the one?"

Mum laughed. "Oh, your father and my story is a long one. What brought this all up?"

"Curious," Meadow responded with a smile. As she looked around the room, it had become lighter in the room and yard. Meadow recognized the area. It was the library at her house. The house on Spinner's End.

"You sure you want to hear this?" Mum asked.

"Of course!" Meadow exclaimed, "I always wondered what your love story was."

"Well, it was no love story," Mum laughed. "Not at first. . .

_Sadie was working one evening, helping out at her parents' bar and inn during the summer holiday, she had one more year left at Hogwarts. She was bartending, laughing and joking with the customers. It was a normal night, the usual patrons drinking their usual drinks. The bar and inn was mostly used by Muggles, since Sadie's parents were Muggles. It was a great place; the atmosphere was light and full of joy. People were laughing all around the bar. The air was warm and cheeks were rosy with liquor. _

_Then a man walked in. _

"Well, I don't know if I should really call him a man," Mum laughed. "He was young. Just barely out of school. He graduated from Hogwarts a month ago.

_A young man with pale skin, thin lips, a hook nose, black eyes, and chin-length black hair. He was handsome. He walked in and immediately came to the bar, away from other customers. He looked like he had a hard night. His eyes were sunk in with dark bags under his eyes. _

"_Your finest hard liquor," he said shortly—_

"Was it Dad?" Meadow asked, staring at the fire that rose in the fireplace as the grounds out on the window grew lighter. The trees were becoming visible instead of a burred blob of one continuous tree.

"Hush now," Sadie scolded softly. "I'm telling my story now. You told yours without me interrupting." She poked Meadow's side, teasing her. Meadow flinched as she giggled.

"Sorry, Mum."

"_Your finest hard liquor," he said shortly._

"_Well, what do you like?" Sadie asked._

"_Anything strong," came the response. _

_Sadie shrugged and grabbed Edinburgh Gin from the shelf built in below the bar. "Can't get better than the classic," she said and poured a shot over a glass of ice. She fixed it with a lime wedge and put a splash of tonic on it. "How's this?"_

_She placed it in front of him and he eyed it. "It'll do," he took a swig of this liquor and looked up, meeting her eyes. _

"_Sadie," she stuck her hand out with a smirk._

_He took it, his hands calloused, "Severus."_

"_So, what brings you here to my humble establishment tonight?" Sadie asked, letting go of his hand, a smile played on her lips. "It's unlike the Beck's Pub and Inn to have any strangers show up."_

"_No worries, I'll be out of your hair soon enough. Just in town for a few days," he took a sip of the gin. He placed money down on the bar, "Can I get another?"_

"_Sure thing," Sadie said and made a second drink for Severus. "How many are you thinking you're having tonight? Should I keep this up for you?" She waved the bottle at him, teasing._

"_As many drinks as legally possible," Severus responded, his long hair over his eyes. _

_Sadie laughed, "I can get you a room set up to stay the night." _

"_Oh, I couldn't—"_

"_It's an Inn," Sadie said laughing, before leaning close to him, "Don't worry, it's no bother. But if you need enough drinks to drink your sorrows or problems away, at least stay the night so I don't have to worry about you off and disapparating."_

_Severus's head jerked up, his eyes wide with shock. "Diss— what?" _

"_Disapparating," Sadie repeated. "I know you know what that is. I'd rather not be responsible for you splinching yourself. So, take the room for tonight. It's on me." He looked at her plainly, without saying a word, so she continued. "Hogwarts. I go there too."_

"_Sadie! Are you done chatting! I'd like another beer!" A regular called out to her from the other end of the bar. _

"_Be right there, Jamie!" She called to the man. Sadie shook the glass, the ice clinked together. "Take the room. I'll make sure you forget your problems today." She hurried away to pour a beer for the man called Jamie._

"So, what happened then?" Meadow asked, intrigued, looking at her mother.

Sadie had a smile on her face, "Well. After that night, Severus kept coming back to Beck's Pub and Inn.He was quiet, reserved. I knew he was getting over a heartbreak that dated back to his childhood, so I was a friend to him. Eventually, I went back to school. We owled each other every week. He came and met up with me on Hogsmeade weekends. He was slow to trust, but eventually. . . eventually he did trust me and then he opened up like a waterfall.

"Your Dad, he has a horrible past, it defined him as a kid," Sadie continued, a look in her eyes that was far away. "And that darkness that grew and grew inside him. He did a lot of bad things, including that night we first met. Eventually, he realized how wrong he was for letting that darkness inside. He turned his life around after that, after he met me that night." She looked straight at Meadow. "Don't let his past haunt you now."

-.-.-

Sadie refused to talk about Severus's past more than that. She said that Meadow wasn't old enough to know, old enough to understand. And it may be true. True that Meadow wouldn't understand her father's past and why did had a darkness in his life or what he did with that darkness once he became of age. And, Meadow, wanting to enjoy her time with her mother without any storms or unnatural disasters occurring, decided not to press it.

Even though she told her father that she wanted to visit Sadie alone, Meadow started to feel guilty over not allowing her mother to visit the two people she loved together.

Meadow told her mother she'd be right back and let go of the link, grabbing her father quickly, before returning to Sadie's inner world. Severus right behind and for the rest of the visit, they enjoyed Christmas together as a family.

-.-.-.


	16. 16 The Stone

**I have realized, I'm slacking so much on writing during this quarantined time because I find it very difficult to write for a kid's emotions and perspectives. But I am planning on working out the next few chapters in the following days, so I'm hoping to have the next few chapters up shortly (possibly in two weeks?)! As this first year is coming to an end rather fast, I'm getting more excited for the final chapters of Book One and getting into the Chamber of Secrets! Also, as mentioned in last chapter, I had a really difficult time writing that chapter. No idea why, it was just really tough. **

**Enjoy!**

Miracle

_Meadow told her mother she'd be right back and let go of the link, grabbing her father quickly, before returning to Sadie's inner world. Severus right behind and for the rest of the visit, they enjoyed Christmas together as a family._

Chapter 16: The Stone

Meadow found herself in the room with the mirror the next night. She stared at the mirror from a distance, not sitting close enough to see the vision. Sitting in the silence, Meadow's eyes trailed the magnificent mirror standing from floor to ceiling with an ornate gold frame and two clawed feet. As Meadow eyed it, she still wished she knew what it was and why it worked the way it worked. Suddenly, she heard footsteps come closer and she dashed up, shrinking into the shadows.

The door creaked open slightly and Harry's figure appeared as he pulled off his invisibility cloak. Meadow stayed in the shadows, but relaxed as she was relieved to see that it was Harry and not a teacher. He rushed right over to the mirror without glancing around, as he hurried over to the mirror as if nothing and no one could stop him.

"So – back again, Harry?" Dumbledore's voice said, "And Meadow?"

She froze, her blood turned to ice and she felt humiliation and horror burn into her cheeks. It was the first time she was caught out of bed by a teacher, and of course, it had to be the headmaster as if it couldn't get worse. Meadow turned her head down, ashamed to be caught.

"I—I didn't see you, sir," Harry's small voice came from by the mirror. He had his back towards it as he faced Professor Dumbledore. Actually, upon reflection, Meadow too, hadn't seen the Professor upon walking into the room. Granted, she didn't much remember the last day and a half since she got back from visiting her mother. Dumbledore sat on one of the wooden desks, eyeing both children with curious eyes. He was smiling.

"Strange how nearsighted being invisible can make you," the headmaster said gently. "So, you two like hundreds before you, have discovered the delights of the Mirror of Erised." He beckoned them to come closer and Meadow shuffled over by Harry.

"I didn't know it was called that, sir," Harry said. Meadow felt glad that Harry was there, doing most of the talking for her as she composed her thoughts.

"But I expect you've realized by now what it does?"

"It—well—it shows me my family—"

"And your friend, Ron, himself as head boy."

"And me as a Potions Master. . . with my parents happy," Meadow said softly, surprising herself. "It shows us what we want in our hearts."

"Yes and no," Dumbledore replied to Meadow, looking at her with his sparkling blue eyes from behind his half-moon glasses.

"But how did you know about Ron?" Harry exclaimed, gaping at Dumbledore.

"I do not need a cloak to become invisible," the headmaster said gently to Harry. He turned back to Meadow. "The mirror shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts—" his blue eyes turned knowingly onto Harry, "You, who have never known your family, see them standing around you. Ronald Weasley, who has always been overshadowed by his brothers, sees himself standing alone, the best of all." Dumbledore's eyes landed back on Meadow and she felt Harry's eyes on her now too. "Meadow, sees herself as a young potions master with her parents happy, to see a normal family that is proud of her. However, this mirror gives us neither knowledge or truth. Men and women have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen, or been driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or even possible." Dumbledore took a breath and looked between the two children.

"The Mirror will be moved to a new home tomorrow, and I ask you not to go looking for it again. If you ever do run across it, you will now be prepared. It does not do well to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that. Now, Harry, why don't you put that admirable cloak back on and get off to bed?" Dumbledore's voice was gentle, but his point was firm: do not go back for the mirror.

"What about, Doe?" Harry asked, looking at her.

"I will escort Meadow back to her common room," Dumbledore replied, a small smile dashed across his face.

"Sir—Professor Dumbledore?" Harry asked, hesitantly, "Can I ask you something?"

"Obviously, you've just done so," Dumbledore said. "You may ask me one more thing, however."

"What do you see when you look into the mirror?"

The blood rushed out of Meadow's face, causing her to grow pale in the question. She couldn't believe Harry would ask the Headmaster that question. "I? I see myself holding a pair of thick, woolen socks," he said softly with a smile.

Meadow's jaw almost dropped at the answer, but she managed to keep it shut. The two stared at the Headmaster in shock.

"One can never have enough socks," Dumbledore went on. "Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn't get a single pair. People will insist on giving me books. Off you go—"

The Headmaster sent Harry off under the cloak and he put out a hand, "After you, Meadow."

"Yes, sir," she said and headed though the doorway.

The two walked in quiet for most of the way. Meadow found herself both on edge with the Professor and enjoying the walk in the empty castle under the moon light. But as they grew closer to the common room Meadow found herself struggling to keep her curiosity in check. "Sir, I—I was wondering—did you really see a pair of socks?"

She looked up at Dumbledore and immediately regretted asking, "I'm sorry," she said quickly. "That was very forward."

The Headmaster gave a quick, small smile. "Sometimes the most desired things are things that are simple and easily forgotten," he paused as they came up to the Slytherin Entrance. He peered down at her curiously. "Has everything been well?"

Meadow felt the intensity of Dumbledore's blue eyes boring down into her black ones. It felt as though someone was riffling through her mind and Meadow blinked, looking away quickly. "Yes, sir. I believe so."

"Very well," Dumbledore said. "Off to bed."

He opened the wall to the common room and ushered Meadow inside. She went inside, and turned to look over her shoulder, where Dumbledore had already vanished from sight. The wall slid shut, closing the passageway off from sight. She turned around, heading towards her bed in front of the fireplace. Terence was spread out on his own mattress; laying on his stomach, his left arm folded under his head, and legs stretched as far as possible down his mattress. He looked at peace and without a care in the world.

Meadow's face had a smile on it as she hopped into her own bed, pulling the blankets over her shoulder and tucking them under her chin. She watched the dancing flames from the dying fire. With the yellow flames imprinted on her eyes, Meadow eventually drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

-.-.-.

"_Hand over the baby, Sadie!" The witch called, a sinister look upon her face._

"_No! Severus wouldn't want this!" Mum yelled at her. "You know that, Hannah." _

_Hannah. A name Meadow never heard her father say at all. What was Hannah's last name?_

"_The Dark Lord doesn't know of her yet, but he will soon!" Hannah snarled. "He will want her on our side. When the time comes." _

"_I will not subject my daughter to your cause!" Mum screamed, raising her wand higher, positioning it in a threatening and defensive manor._

"_She will join. One way or the other," Hannah shot a spell at Mum._

-.-.-.

Meadow woke with a start. The nightmare about her mother on the cobblestone drive haunted her dreams once again. She woke to Terence looking at her again, concerned. "Bad dream?" He asked.

"Yeah. . . the same one as before," Meadow replied, shaking her head and wiping her forehead.

"Want to talk about it?" He asked.

Meadow took a deep breath in. "I don't really know how to explain it. . . it was about my mother. She was dueling someone, probably a Death Eater, and an auror showed up. . . the spells, they collided with my mum in between them. She fell. . ." she took another breath. "My mum. . . she's never been around much. It's hard to connect with her sometimes. . ."

Terence frowned, "I know how that can be."

"Oh?" Meadow asked, switching focus to her friend. She didn't mind, it was nice to not be in her own head. Besides, she ranted enough to Violet and felt the bricks off her chest.

"Yeah. . . my mother," Terence sighed, "My mother was a Death Eater. She was taken away when I was about two years old, or three. I'm not quite sure, I was so young."

Meadow let a moment of silence between them. "That's awful," she stated, though, she had a faint memory of Terence mentioning his mother before.

"You'd think so, but really, she wasn't a very kind woman anyway. She was rather neglectful from stories I was told, gave birth to me and pawned me off on our house elf. My mother went and devoted all her time to You-Know-Who once again," Terence replied. "She's in Azkaban for torturing Muggles and Muggleborns and Blood-traitors. A bit horrible, actually, come to think of it. Don't let anyone know though, most of our housemates. . . well, they grew up getting told that Muggleborns are inferior to purebloods, that they're unworthy of being witches and wizards."

"Yeah. . . I've seen that here and there," she said, thinking of Draco. He was clearly one who was brainwashed by his father, and probably his father before that. But Meadow didn't often interact with those who had that same thought. Or realized who those people were just yet. And then she placed that memory: the hospital wing where Terence and Draco bickered about most of the Slytherins having connections to You-Know-Who.

"After my mother was put into Azkaban, it was just me and my father—and our house elf, of course. Her name is Jibsey. She basically brought me up. My father, after my mother was taken away, he never wanted to see me. I remind him too much of her, I suppose," Terence continued, his coffee colored eyes on hers. Meadow stayed quiet and blinked, cocking her head to one side as she waited for him to continue. "My father is abusive. That's why I stay here during the Winter Holiday. I remember—there was a time when I was six, Father was trying to teach me about something. Possibly the basics of magic, like all families do in the wizarding world. But at this particular moment, he was teaching me about why Muggleborns should be rid of this world. And as a kid, I didn't understand why people had to be rid of the world. I said something like 'I don't want to kill people like you or Mummy. I don't want to go to Azkaban.'"

Terence took a deep breath in, his eyes darting off of Meadow's as she stayed quiet. "And Father, he hated that response. I don't remember what he said, but he yanked me out of my seat, forced my hand flat on a table. . ." He shook his head, "He broke my fingers. Mended them. And broke them again. Explaining that my broken fingers represented a Muggleborn, with one broken, my hand wouldn't function properly. With a second broken, even more difficulty occurring. With my fingers mended, the blood purity stayed functioning properly. He rebroke them because he wanted me to remember that lesson.

"Jibsey fixed up my hand and then took over the homeschooling. She tried to protect me from my father's wrath," Terence explained. "She took most of his beatings if that meant he wouldn't take his anger out of me."

"That's horrible," Meadow said and reached out a hand, she put it on his, he flinched at first before he grasped her fingers in his.

"Hogwarts is safe from him. And my mother, being locked in Azkaban, well, the world is safe from her," Terence replied. "Now I just have to live with the horrors my parents created. The destroyed the lives of many families."

He fell quiet and his eyes were on the fire that had roared into action again, keeping the common room warm. Meadow knew what he was talking about, after suspecting that her father was a Death Eater, his past crimes would bear on Meadow's conscious forever. Guilt over the things her father had done. Granted, she still feels guilt from the current treatment of students from her father, granted those were two completely different horrors.

"I'm sorry," Meadow finally said, unsure of what else to say.

"It's not your fault," Terence replied, his eyes back on hers. He had a grim smile upon his face. "There's nothing anyone could possibly do. Besides, it's not so bad here."

"Not at all," Meadow said, looking around the common room. Her eyes landed on the large windows looking into the Black Lake. Fish swam around in a school in front of the window. Peace under the thick layer of ice that lay on top of the lake. "It's nice that you're here. I was worried that I'd be the only one. You know, given that everyone's families in Slytherin are really tight."

"It was quite lonely last year," Terence replied. "Much better this year," he smirked at her.

Meadow tried to suppress a smile and shook her head, "Come on, now. Shall we head up to breakfast in ten?"

She stood up, pulling him with her. The two headed toward their respected dormitories to freshen up and change. Meadow pulled on thick black stockings, a black pleated skirt, her quidditch sleeve, a green knit jumper with a silver strip just below the collar bone, dense woolen socks, and her usual brown boots with a short, thick heel on them. Her thumb ring on per usual and the necklace that held a sister locket and lily flower charm around her neck. She looked at her ears, they looked bare compared to her mother's copious number of earrings; eventually, Meadow promised herself, she'd get some ear piercings similar.

When she set down towards the common room, Terence was waiting for her at the wall. The two set off towards breakfast.

-.-.-.

"You see, Dumbledore was right, that mirror could drive you mad," Ron was saying as Meadow joined the group of Gryffindors outside the Great Hall, whom were all clustered together catching up after the winter holidays.

"Bad dreams?" Meadow asked Harry. He nodded. "Me too."

"I can't believe you three," Hermione exclaimed, horrified and disappointed. "Not once did you find anything out about Nicolas Flamel?"

It dawned on Meadow just then, she had forgot all about Nicolas Flamel, including the hint that Violet told her. "No—that's not true," Meadow said and the four looked at her. "I found something out. I—I owled a friend," she bit the inside of her lip. "Flamel has something to do with Dumbledore. But that's all I know."

"Well, at least that gives us a direction of where to look," Hermione said matter-of-factly.

"Doubt it," Shane spoke up, shaking his head. He was standing next to Meadow, despite not talking much this year, the two shared a bond, and their friendship didn't seem to be hurt from the differences in houses just yet. "Dumbledore's in just about every book for one thing or another."

Shane was right. Since the term had started up once more, the group felt like they had skimmed just about every library book without finding a single clue about Flamel with Dumbledore. Meadow started out spending less time with her Slytherin friends, but as the grounds turned to mud, the ice melted from the Black Lake, and the snow turned to rain, she began to feel distant from Daphne. So, she took time away from hunting down Flamel to spend time with her best friend from Slytherin.

Daphne excitedly welcomed Meadow back to her side, picking up their friendship where it left off, as if no time had passed. Theodore, however, was distant and suspicious of Meadow's friendships with the Gryffindors. Meadow tried to not let that bug her, as she knew being friends with the Gryffindors was simply because she got along with them. And they had saved her from a troll attack. Terence was away often due to homework and quidditch lessons, as Flint had the team out for hours practicing to win the Quidditch House Cup.

One night, Meadow found herself sitting alone at one of the tables near the fireplace. She stared at the fire, remembering how she and Terence used to sleep next to it. They had levitated their mattresses back to their dormitories the morning before everyone came back on the train. Everything seemed so different and yet the same.

Bhu and Gabriel came up to Meadow's spot in the common room, chatting excitedly away about something. "Doe!" Bhu exclaimed with a huge grin upon his face.

"Did you hear?" Gabriel added, a smirk crept up his chubby face, his eyes gleaning.

"Depends," Meadow looked up from her transfiguration homework. "What did I hear about?"

"Professor Snape is refereeing the Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff!" The two chimed together.

Meadow flinched so hard, she sent her ink bottle flying across the table, ink sprayed everywhere. "Merlin's beard!" she cried; her essay was ruined. She quickly gathered up the bottle of leftover ink and looked between the two boys, "You're joking."

"We're not! Just heard it from Flint," Bhu replied, a smirk upon his almond skin. He crossed his arms over his chest, his shoulders were comically wide, as if the rest of his body hadn't caught up to his growth spurt yet.

"Bloody hell," Meadow replied shaking her head. Ink was smeared over her hands and cheeks. "Why would he want to do that?"

"No idea, but maybe Hufflepuff will have a chance at winning against Gryffindor," Gabriel said cheerfully, bouncing on his toes.

Meadow snorted, "Hufflepuff will be lucky if they can figure out who's on their team."

"Better root for them anyway, Doe. There's a number of Slytherins watching you to decipher where your loyalty lies," a voice said behind the two boys.

The three looked over towards the voice, and upon seeing Adrian Pucey and Miles Bletchley, Gabriel and Bhu said their farewells to Meadow. "Do you two always have to keep telling me about 'the Slytherins watching me,'" she put her fingers up in quotations.

"You haven't been listening very well," Miles said as the two boys sat down across from her.

Meadow groaned and rolled her eyes, "Who is exactly _watching _me?"

Adrian leaned forward, "People who will remember your connection with Harry Potter."

"I'll be fine," Meadow replied. "Besides, what's the point of worrying about something you have no control over? Why not just live?" She remembered Dumbledore's words. The advice of not wasting away was still fresh in her head, despite being over a month ago.

"Settle down, Adrian," Miles said, his black hair was cut short again after the holiday.

"How come you two aren't at Quidditch practice?" Meadow asked, changing the subject.

"Flint let us off tonight, said it was best to rest for the night," Miles replied.

"Load of bullshite," Adrian rolled his eyes. "Flint's off talking with Snape, seeing what he's planning on doing while refereeing the match."

"Is that even legal?" Meadow leaned forward. "Can any professor referee a match instead of Madam Hooch?"

"Never seen it done before," Adrian said as he kicked up his heels on the table. "Why do you have ink everywhere?"

Meadow looked at her hands, the black liquid had covered her palms splotchy, and then very seriously she looked up, meeting Adrian's eye and said, "I like bathing in ink, it's very rejuvenating for the skin."

Miles burst out laughing as Adrian looked at Meadow shocked. "Touché," Adrian managed to choke out.

Meadow smirked at the older boy with her head cocked to one side. "Have any adventures of your own recently?"

The two shook their heads, "Not with Quidditch going on. Flint's been breathing down our necks about staying out of trouble."

"That doesn't sound like Flint at all," Meadow said.

"Oh, it's a load of bullshite," Adrian said again. "It's mostly for Cassius, Niles, and Stuart. They're pretty thick."

"Pick on first years from other houses," Miles shook his head. "Can't get in trouble in case whoever gives detention orders it to be during the match."

"They can do that?"

"Depends on the severity of what they did," Adrian replied, rolling his eyes. "Niles and Stuart can't really think for themselves. They go and follow what others are doing."

Meadow frowned, "You shouldn't talk about them like that."

"Possibly. But what do you say about Crabbe and Goyle?" Adrian replied with a smirk. "Sometimes, there's just really thick people. You all know someone who's better at academics than conversations, and someone better at befriending others than school, and sometimes, there's people who get both or don't get either."

"Hmm, I suppose so," Meadow responded.

Just then the wall opened and Meadow watched as Draco, Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy, and Millicent entered laughing.

"Didya see his face?" Draco said laughing, almost doubled over.

"I can't believe that actually worked, Dracy!" Pansy squealed giggling. "When he—when he fell on his fat arse! That was the best!"

"Oh no," Meadow groaned.

"What first year did you make fun of now, Draco?" Adrian called to the younger boy, a half smirk on his face.

"Longbottom, of course!" Draco sneered, "Deserves it! Can't even raise his wand correctly for anything!"

"What did you do to him?" Meadow demanded, standing up from her seat.

"Gonna run off to Daddy now, are you?" Pansy scoffed.

Meadow laughed, "And say what exactly? 'Hey Dad, Draco went off and jinxed Neville Longbottom! Do something about it!' and what would he do? Turn his back and not acknowledge that a Slytherin broke the rules. Come on, Parkinson. Where is your common sense?"

"Thick," Adrian said softly and Miles broke into a deep, booming laughter.

Pansy's face turned red and she stomped upstairs towards her dormitory. Meadow let out a small snicker as she watched the girl disappear. "Alright, where'd you leave him, Draco?"

"Why?" Draco responded, narrowing his eyes at Meadow.

"Well, it's a bit rude to leave him wherever you jinxed him," Meadow responded. "What did you even do to him?"

"Leg-Locker Curse," Draco responded, "He can still get around, just has to bunny hop."

"Bloody hell," Meadow responded, shaking her head. She looked at Adrian and Miles, "Mind watching my stuff for a second? I'll be right back."

"Sure," Miles said.

Meadow shoved passed Draco and out of the common room, figuring if Neville went anywhere, it was towards the Gryffindor common room. Walking as fast as she could towards the Grand Staircase and then climbing two steps at a time, she caught up to Neville relatively quick. He was hopping with both feet up the stairs, using his one hand on the rail to balance and make sure he wouldn't fall over.

"Neville," Meadow said as she slid next to him. "Neville, let me help you." As she went to grab her wand, she realized that it wasn't in her pocket. "Son of a—"

"Meadow!" Neville exclaimed.

"Ugh," She groaned. "I forgot my wand in the common room. . . come on, let me help you to the Gryffindor Tower."

Neville nodded. "You know," he started as he put an arm over her shoulders and hopped up the next stair, "I can't believe you were sorted into Slytherin." There was that sentence again, Violet told her that during the visit to St. Mungo's the other month. "I always thought you'd be a Gryffindor or Hufflepuff."

Meadow laughed shortly as she braced herself for the next stair hop. "Gee, that makes me feel right at ease."

"Well, it's not like you're mean or anything," Neville went on. "How'd you find out I got jinxed?"

"Draco came into the common room boasting about it," Meadow scoffed. "You've got to stand up to him, Neville. Go to Professor McGonagall, at least."

Neville shook his head, "Don't want anymore trouble." Meadow didn't push the subject, she knew eventually Neville would show his true potential, but on his own terms.

The two managed to get up the stairs faster than Neville by himself and stood in front of the Fat Lady. Neville gave the password and surprisingly, the Fat Lady didn't say anything to Meadow as she helped him up the stoop of the portrait and into the Gryffindor common room. Meadow had never been in the Gryffindor Tower before. It was welcoming, a roaring fire in the large stone fireplace, large, overstuffed armchairs and couches, all decked out in crimson and gold. Gold chandeliers cast warm glows of light all around the room. And the windows, the windows shown a beautiful view of the castle grounds, each side showing something different.

The common room exploded in laughter as Neville toppled out of Meadow's grip and onto the floor. Hermione, however, sprang into action, performing the counter-curse, and Neville's legs leapt apart. He got to his feet trembling.

"What happened?" Hermione asked Neville though her eyes became wild with surprise as she noticed Meadow standing in the entrance way. Meadow shifted from foot to foot, uncertain if she should stay. Hermione beckoned the two over to where she, Harry, Ron, and Shane were sitting. Meadow, unsure of how some of the Gryffindors would react, sat on the ground, hiding from the rest of the students.

Neville went on to explain that Draco found him by the library and was excited to try out the jinx on him. Hermione urged him to go to a teacher and Ron simply said he needed to fight back.

"He's used to walking all over people, but that's no reason to lie down in front of him and make it easier," Ron said.

"There's no need to tell me I'm not brave enough to be in Gryffindor, Malfoy's already done that," Neville choked out, his lower lip trembling as he fought with himself.

"You're worth twelve of him," Meadow said softly as she knelt in front of Neville, looking into his sad eyes pleadingly.

"The Sorting Hat chose you for Gryffindor, didn't it?" Harry added as he felt around in his robe pocket for something. "And where's Malfoy? In stinking Slytherin." He handed Neville a chocolate frog he pulled out.

It stung slightly, when Harry said that, but Meadow knew it was because of Slytherin's rap sheet, but it got Neville's spirts up as his lips twitched into a weak smile as he unwrapped the frog.

"Thanks, Harry, Meadow. . . I think I'll go to bed. . ." Neville's voice was still sad, but he looked to be slightly hopeful. "D'you want the card, you collect them, don't you?"

As Neville walked away, Harry looked at the Famous Wizard card.

"Dumbledore again," Harry said, "He was the first one I ever—"

Meadow snatched the card from his hand and flipped it over to the back. As she skimmed the back of the card. _Albus Dumbledore: Current Headmaster of Hogwarts. Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling. _

"I knew it," Meadow said in awe as she looked up at the Gryffindors. "Listen to this: _Dumbledore is considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, he's particularly famous for. . . his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel._ Harry, I knew we read his name somewhere! We read it together on the train ride here."

Hermione jumped to her feet. She hadn't looked so excited since they'd gotten back the marks for their very first piece of homework. "Stay there!" She sprinted up to the mahogany staircase up to the girls' dormitories. The four barely had time to exchange a mystified look before she came hurtling back, an enormous old book in her arms.

"I never thought to look in here!" She whispered excitedly. "I got this out of the library weeks ago for a bit of light reading."

"_That's light?"_ Ron exclaimed, looking at her with an incredulous look.

"Shh," Hermione shushed him and gave him a stern look that resembled a very similar expression Professor McGonagall had when she was lecturing. She flicked through the book frantically, muttering to herself.

At last, she found what she was looking for.

"I knew it! I _knew _it!" she exclaimed as her finger was pointing at a section in the book.

"Are we allowed to speak yet?" Ron said grumpily, though he was ignored.

"Nicolas Flamel," she whispered dramatically, "Is the _only known maker of the Philosopher's Stone!_"

As the boy's faces remained blank, Meadow's eyes widened. Though she wasn't quite sure of what the philosopher's stone did, she knew it was an ancient piece of magic.

"The what?"

"Oh, _honestly,_ don't you read? Look—there—"

Meadow grabbed the book and read aloud:

"_The ancient study of alchemy is concerned with making the Philosopher's Stone, a legendary substance with astonishing powers. The stone will transform any metal into pure gold. It also produces the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal._

"_There have been many reports of the Philosopher's Stone over the centuries, but the only Stone currently in existence belongs to Mr. Nicolas Flamel, the noted alchemist and opera lover. Mr. Flamel, who celebrated his six hundred and sixty-fith birthday last year, enjoys a quiet life in Devon with his wife, Perenell (six hundred and fifty-eight)."_

Meadow took a breath as she looked around at the bunch.

"See?" Hermione said once Meadow finished. "The dog must be guarding Flamel's Philosopher's stone! I bet he asked Dumbledore to keep it safe for him, because they're friends and he knew someone was after it, that's why he wanted the Stone moved out of Gringotts!"

"A stone that makes gold and stops you from ever dying!" Harry said, leaning back into the chair he sat upon. "No wonder Snape's after it! _Anyone_ would want it."

"As much as the Stone is priceless," Meadow interjected, "I really don't think my father would have any use for it. . . he doesn't want to become immortal."

"Whoever it is," Shane said, locking eyes with Meadow. "The Stone is being hunted after."

"And no wonder we couldn't find Flamel in that _Study of Recent Developments in Wizardry," _Ron added. "He's not exactly recent if he's six hundred and sixty-five, is he?"

-.-.-.


	17. 17 Getting Closer

**Quick note—I have a poll up on my profile! The question is: Should I post the End-Of-Term Exams that I created? I will not only post each subject, but I will also break it up to exam chapters and answer-sheet chapters—that is, if you'd want. Even so, I'll be incorporating most of the exams into the next few chapters so I can at least, you know, use my research. So, check out that poll or leave a comment if you'd want that!**

**I also just want you all to know, I am utilizing a lot of wiki and for basically anything I have a question on. Which if you're curious about certain aspects of the HP world, you all can find it easily now. I also utilize these websites a lot for backstories, book information, both class and quidditch schedules, and basically anything else that I need to use to make this story as accurate as possible to the HP universe. There are certain areas I do take liberates on in creating (aka: a lot of the potions are incomplete instructions or don't have any at all).**

**So, as a reminded JK owns the HP universe. I own my own characters and creative adjustments to HP. **

**ENJOY Chapter 17!**

Miracle

"_And no wonder we couldn't find Flamel in that _Study of Recent Developments in Wizardry_," Ron added. "He's not exactly recent if he's six hundred and sixty-five, is he?" _

Chapter 17: Getting Closer

That Saturday, Meadow was decked out in all her Slytherin gear, proud of her house as the Quidditch Inner-House Cup had its third match of the school year and the first since coming back to Hogwarts. The Slytherin house was once more united over the wish to flatten the teams in the Quidditch Cup. Since the weather had become nicer out, the students weren't all covered up in their layers with winter cloaks, but still dressed relatively warm.

Out in the stands, Meadow was joined by Daphne, Theodore, Gabriel, and Bhu. The boys had their faces painted silver and green, waving banners with the Slytherin serpent crest embroidered on it. Meadow allowed for Daphne to paint her face with green and silver dots that were laid out in a half infinity sign: dots above her eyebrow on the left side of her face that crossed over the bridge of her nose down to under her right eye. Daphne had the same pattern on her face, just opposite. They too, were waving Slytherin banners in the air. It was much easier for Meadow to show her Slytherin pride when the match wasn't against the Gryffindors.

Everything seemed to be going well, not even Pansy Parkinson there to ruin Meadow's good mood as she peered down at the Quidditch field waiting for the Slytherin team to come out of the locker rooms. Despite Gryffindor not playing, Lee Jordan was still the commentator for the match. As Ravenclaw walked out onto the pitch, Lee announced them.

"We have Chasers Rodger Davies, Jeremy Stretton, and Randolph Burrow! Beaters Jason Samuels and Captain Savannah Dobbin! Seeker Robert Hilliard! And Keeper Grant Page!" Lee's voice carried through the stadium, despite the cheers that roared from Ravenclaw, as it was magnified with a speaker. The opposite stands were dressed in bronze and blue.

Meadow watched as Savannah Dobbin lead the group, it was clear who she was. She had a captain band on her arm and she was the only female on the team. Dobbin had her hair short, sandy blonde hair pulled back with clips; her hair was short, barely passed her chin, and had soft waves on it. Meadow could barely make out that Dobbin had freckles scattered across her face and hazel eyes. Dobbin's nose was slightly off-center, Meadow assumed she got hit with a bludger a few times and broke her nose. Despite Dobbin's small statue, she must be one hell of a player to be Captain and a Beater. It wasn't often one would see a girl as a beater.

Dobbin's face had a stern expression upon her face as she led her players towards the circle where they all lined up in a half circle; Dobbin stood by Madam Hooch, waiting for Flint and the other Slytherins to march onto field.

Which they did, Flint walked out first, his head held high into the air with a sinister smirk upon his lips. "Ah, and here we have Slytherin walking out," Lee Jordan announced, not nearly as enthusiastic. "Chasers Adrian Pucey, Cassius Warrington, and Marcus Flint, who is also the most illegal Captain—"

"JORDAN!" Professor McGonagall barked at her student.

"—Sorry, Professor, only stating the facts!" Lee responded. "Beaters Niles Darker and Stuart Vanity. Seeker Terence Higgs. And Keeper Miles Bletchley. They're all off towards the Ravenclaw team and Madam Hooch—"

Madam Hooch held up her hand to stop Lee from continuing to talk. He fell silent and across the field everyone heard her say, "I want a nice, fair game, from all of you." Though those yellow eyes were locked onto Flint, those same words from the first match when Slytherin was against Gryffindor. "Shake hands."

Dobbin and Flint shook hands. Meadow was impressed that Dobbin didn't flinch at the crushing grip Flint surely used on her. They let go and Madam Hooch immediately said, "Mount your brooms, please."

Once all players were in position, Madam Hooch gave a loud blast of her silver whistle. The Quaffle was thrown into the air and fourteen brooms followed.

"And the Quaffle is immediately taken by Adrian Pucey of Slytherin—blocked by a bludger that was hit by Captain Savannah Dobbin of Ravenclaw, that girl knows how to swing a bat! Pucey looses the Quaffle to Randolph Burrow of Ravenclaw—passes to Jeremy Stretton—AND! Miles Bletchley the Slytherin Keeper catches the ball—throws it to Pucey. Pucey takes off down the pitch—"

Meadow watched with excitement as her eyes trailed Adrian's robes flying in the wind. He ducked a bludger and streaked down the field. It was elegant watching him soar through the air, weaving through players. He passed to Cassius, who then flew around little Rodger Davies, and passed it back.

"Pucey goes for the shot and he—scores," Lee's voice said unenthusiastically, it didn't matter, however, as Meadow and the Slytherins burst into cheers.

It was the first of many, as Adrian was really on his game today, shooting score after score despite Flint, Niles, and Stuart getting penalties called on them for stupid, illegal moves that cost some points. Terence was flying above the stadium, away from the chaos of the Chasers and Beaters, eyeing the field for the small, golden Snitch.

The game went on and the score was 80-30. Dobbin and Jason Samuels were starting to become a bit reckless with their swings. Dobbin wasn't nearly as accurate with her hits anymore and the Ravenclaw Keeper, Grant Page was just a second year, he was terrified of Flint, missing a lot of catches that should have been caught. Dobbin screamed at Page quite a few times, which Meadow was torn between feeling bad for the boy and laughing at him. It was a bit difficult not to laugh at him, he really was doing a terrible job of guarding the goal posts.

Meadow couldn't help but let her mind wander about how it would feel to play on the team. She couldn't wait to try out for the quidditch team next year. It would be great to be teammates with Adrian, Miles, and Terence. It would be a grand time, especially since Miles seemed to be like an older brother to Meadow.

"Flint is blocked by Davies—the quaffle is punched out of Flint's arm by Stretton—the quaffle is recovered by Warrington. Warrington to Pucey and Pucey scores. 120-50 Slytherin. Oh—what's this? Looks like Slytherin Seeker Terence Higgs spotted something!"

Meadow jumped on top of the bench to get a better look at what Terence was doing. All eyes were on him as he dived down. And then, Terence held up his hand, a speck of gold twinkling through his fingers.

"I don't believe it! Higgs done it—he caught the Snitch. Slytherin wins!" Lee Jordan's voice was awestruck, as if he was surprised that Terence did catch the snitch.

Meadow screamed in excitement and rushed the field with the rest of the Slytherins. As she reached Terence, she pulled him into a hug, not caring that he was all sweaty. His arms wrapped instinctively around her.

"Congratulations!" She yelled and a huge smile appeared on his face.

Slytherin won by a landslide, 240-70. Surely the amount of points they won by would make up for the first quidditch match against Gryffindor. And it knocked Ravenclaw off their win against Hufflepuff earlier that year.

Meadow let go of Terence and he was lifted up onto the shoulders of Niles and Stuart, both were swinging their beaters bats around carelessly. The rush of a victory clung onto Meadow as she was pushed from side to side as everyone wanted to give Terence a high-five. She couldn't wait until that was her.

-.-.-

The following Tuesday afternoon drove into March, and Meadow found herself in the stifling Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, copying down the different ways to treat werewolf bites. The lessons that Professor Quirrell taught were just as boring and inactive as the beginning of the year. Quirrell seemed to be terrified of the idea of using magic in his classroom and adamantly insisted on teaching with theories. The class was still a joke to Meadow, and she knew she wasn't alone. Her suspicions were confirmed when Daphne leaned over to her while Quirrell was distracted by something out of the window. The Professor was nervously playing with his hands as his eyes darted around the castle grounds.

"Pst," Daphne whispered to get Meadow's attention. "Theo and I want to try some of the spells out that we've read about, you in?"

Meadow's face broke into a smile right away, and she couldn't have been more grateful to her friend, "Yes!" Her voice whined in excitement. "Tonight?"

Daphne nodded, her own eyes glistening in excitement as a smirk played on her lips. "About time you joined us."

"What do you mean?" Meadow questioned as she gave her friend a doubtful look. "You've been doing this before?"

"Not with DADA," Daphne whispered, glancing up to look at Quirrell. He was still feverously staring out of the window, muttering to himself without any sound coming from his lips. "We've practiced transfiguration and charms before. . . you know, the spells we practiced in class before."

Meadow's lips were pressed together in a tight smile as she shook her head at her friend, "I can't believe you never told me about it before!"

"We thought you'd tell Snape," Theodore spoke up, his voice hard as he had his eyes narrowed at Meadow, as if he was daring her to oppose him.

"Of course, I wouldn't've," she said flatly, narrowing her eyes at him. She turned away from the two, back to copying down her notes. Now she was onto ways to avoid meeting werewolves.

_Avoid going out during a full moon, the night before, and the night after. _

Meadow's quill paused as she reread the sentence she just copied. _Avoid going out during a full moon, the night before, and the night after. Avoid going out during a full moon, the night before, and the night after. Avoid going out during a full moon, the night before, and the night after. Avoid going out during a full moon, the night before, and the night after. Avoid going out during a full moon, the night before, and the night after. Avoid going out during a full moon, the night before, and the night after. Avoid going out during a full moon, the night before, and the night after. Avoid going out during a full moon, the night before, and the night after. _

_Avoid going out during a full moon—_

The bell rang. Signifying the end of class. Without a second thought, Meadow threw her things into her bag and dashed out of the door. She didn't wait for Daphne and Theodore. She didn't wait for anyone else as she rushed through the corridors, down the stairs, boots clattering on the stone, and the wall sliding open to the Slytherin common room. Meadow didn't notice the eyes that were on her as she pushed passed students up the stone and steel stairs to the girls' dormitories.

Without any thought, Meadow unlocked her trunk at the end of her bed and flung it open. It contained her family book, extra clothes, journals that were filled, and all the graded homework from the past year. Riffling through the papers, Meadow looked for her astronomy homework that mapped out the moon patterns from the past months. Grabbing those and the journals she wrote in, she went on her bed and pulled the curtains around her.

Meadow's eyes were wild as she skimmed the pages looking for her notes on the dates Shane missed. She ripped out page after page, setting them on each respective month. September, October, November, January, and February were laid out. She went through each month by month. Circling each day on the moon calendar that Shane missed. According to her notes she took on Shane's absences and the moon patterns for those months, they lined up exactly with the day before, the day of, and the day after the full moon.

Shane was a werewolf. "Huh," Meadow said quietly as she looked at the papers scattered across her bed. She leaned back and crossed her legs, looking at it all.

A thought hit her and Meadow grabbed her DADA book, flipping to the chapter about werewolf bites.

_Werewolves. Are they misunderstood or are they the vicious creatures that tales have told from generation to generation? One may never know. In this chapter, you will learn the how a werewolf is created and how to treat werewolf bites._

_HOW A WEREWOLF BECOMES _

_To become a werewolf, it is necessary to be bitten by a werewolf in their wolfish form at the time of the full moon. When the werewolf's saliva mingles with the victim's blood, contamination will occur. Though most wizards and witches have the means to survive with certain potions and salves, most Muggles will die from the extent of their injuries in the instance of a werewolf attack, though some do survive to become werewolves themselves. This is highly unlikely, and very few cases have been documented. _

_If a witch or wizard has been bit, the werewolf bites should be thoroughly and magically cleaned, as the werewolf's fangs are venomous. However, there is no cure once you have become a werewolf, so try and avoid being bitten at all costs. Such as to avoid going out during a full moon, the night before, and the night after—_

Meadow skimmed ahead, not bothered too much by how a werewolf becomes a werewolf, because what did it matter if Shane already was a werewolf? That wouldn't help her much at all to distinguish if he was one or not.

_HOW TO TREAT WEREWOLF BITES_

_To thoroughly and magically clean the wound from a werewolf attack one can use a number of ways to stop the bleeding for the victim to survive. A mixture of powdered silver and dittany should be applied to a fresh bite to seal the wound and allow the victim to live. Though, there are tragic tales of knowing victims begging for death rather than becoming werewolves._

_Before the invention of Wolfsbane Potion, created by Inventor Damocles Belby, werewolves had a painful transformation into their wolfish form. Werewolves lose all entirely of its human sense of right or wrong. Often, werewolves attack humans due to the animal instinct that takes over their minds. There are documented cases of werewolves locking themselves in isolation during the transformation days and in frustration, bite or scratch themselves. This creates self-inflicted scars and premature ages from the difficult transformations. _

_However, since the invention of Wolfsbane Potion, a particularly difficult and expensive potion to make, it has the ability to relieve some symptoms of lycanthropy. This includes allowing the werewolf to remain intact with their human minds with his or her human sense of right or wrong. A side affect of the potion also renders the dangerous beast into an ordinary sleepy wolf. Though, given the difficulty of the potion and the expensive ingredients, many werewolves are unable to obtain the likes of this potion—_

Meadow threw the book aside in frustration. This didn't say anything about how to tell who was a werewolf nor any other signs to look for when trying to identify a werewolf. Not even any physical appearance of the werewolf form. She needed more evidence that her friend was indeed a werewolf. But in order to truly track down everything Meadow was gathering up; she needed a new journal. One that would be untouched by the rest of her ramblings. One that could be locked and opened by only her. And she knew just where to get one of those. And she knew where to find more books on werewolves. The library.

Debating which place she wanted to go first, Meadow gathered up the diagrams and notes, stacked them in order of dates occurring first with February being the final paper on to bottom of the stack. Carefully, she hid the papers in the secret compartment her father installed for her before school started, she then placed the big book that she received for her birthday on top, and then scattered some clothes over it. Meadow was careful to lock the chest. _"Colloporus," _she said as she waved her wand. It was an easy charm from _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1_, and one of the charms Meadow first tried out during the winter holiday.

What made the most sense was to order the journal first and then the library second. And so, Meadow filled out a request for a self-locking journal, one who knew when to only open for her. From her nightstand, she opened the drawer and grabbed a few coins for the journal. Assuming it would be enough, Meadow pushed the drawer shut, and dashed off to the owlery.

Thankfully, Meadow started to know the ins and outs of shortcuts from the dungeons to the upper floors. Ducking behind a tapestry, she took the tunnel to the fourth-floor, where she then immerged from behind a Hogwarts floor-to-ceiling banner and stepped around the knight that stood in front of it. As Meadow found herself near Professor Flitwick's office, she headed towards the fresh air that reached inside the castle from the West Tower.

The West Tower was exactly thirteen windows to the left of Professor Flitwick's office, the stone grew grimier the closer Meadow got to it, but it wasn't a bother. At least the owl droppings didn't stink up the corridor inside, it seemed to all be magically contained in the tower. Not that it was very surprising, Hogwarts seemed to be magically aware and sometimes even alive, the Grand Staircase as a prime point.

As Meadow climbed the tightly spiraled, stone staircase, the wind grew stronger due to none of the windows having any glass on them so the owls could come and go as they pleased. There were little nooks all along the circular room that stretched up four more levels with a stone staircase littered in owl droppings, straw, and regurgitated skeletons of mice and voles. Meadow skimmed the small, man-made caves for her temperamental owl, Elemental.

The small, tan and white owl was eyeing her from beneath his large, narrowed, yellow eyes. "Get down here!" She called to him, a smirk upon her face. "Elemental, I've got a job for you!"

He hopped off his perch and outstretched his wings as he glided down to her. The underside of his feathers were snow white whereas the tops of his feathers were that sandy brown color. He had a dark beak, which he clicked at her before landing on her shoulder and rubbing his head against hers affectionately.

"Well, hello to you too," she whispered to him as she scratched his head. Elemental hopped off her shoulder and onto the stand in the middle of the circular room. "I want you to try at Dervish and Banges in Hogsmeade first before you have to make the trip to Diagon Alley, alright?" Meadow said to her owl as he looked at her with those eyes. "I want a journal, a specific one—one that would only open for me. I'm not sure what Dervish and Banges has to offer, but you give them this—"

She tied the letter onto his leg. "—and you'll have to take this with you too—" on the other leg, which Elemental held up, Meadow tied a small coin pouch for the shopkeeper to take the money from. "If there isn't anything that I want there, then you might have to travel to Flourish and Blotts in Diagon Alley—is that too far for you to carry a package?"

Elemental clicked his beak angrily at her. "I'll take that as a no," Meadow replied as she frowned at him. "I just want to make sure you're safe and that you won't get tired on the trip."

The owl hooted at her, clearly understanding that his owner really did want what was best for him. He leaned forward and affectionally rubbed his head under her fingers. "Ready?" He clicked his beak excitedly, happy to get his first job from Meadow.

Without another second going by, Elemental took off, stretching his wings out and he flapped up and out of one of the windows in the tower. Meadow watched as his disappeared into the sky and let out a breath. Thankful she didn't have to dash off to any classes before dinner.

-.-.-

That night, Meadow, Daphne, and Theodore went to an empty classroom to practice spells and charms that were mentioned in the Defense Against the Dark Arts book that Professor Quirrell taught out of. "Er—let's skip the Curse of the Bogies," Meadow said as she looked through _The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection._ "It just sounds awful to go through, even with the counter-curse—and that's if we get the counter-curse right."

"Pick a different one," Theodore said, rolling his eyes.

Meadow frowned at him, always so pessimistic. Daphne walked over by Meadow, leaning over her shoulder to take a glance at the book.

"What about this one?" Daphne asked as she pointed to the Knockback Jinx.

"Hm… that would be useful to actually learn," Meadow said as she flipped the pages to the chapter.

"_The Knockback Jinx, a spell that will knock the target backwards. While prominently used for duelling, it can also be used to push heavy objects," _Meadow read as she looked over the page. "_Depending on the point of impact, this jinx may feel like a blow to the chest, knocking back an opponent or object, or it may feel like being knocked over the head with a frying pan, leaving the opponent disoriented. A 'loud bang' is emitted when cast. This jinx will often break fragile objects._

"Well, it doesn't sound too difficult," Meadow said after she read the description out loud. "Besides, it would be an effective way to knock someone off their feet and it's practical in the way one can move heavy objects out of the way."

"Great," Theodore said, his voice hard. "We've found one."

Meadow put the book down with a soft 'plop', "I don't know what's got your wand in a knot, but don't bring it out on me."

"You are exactly the reason for why my wand's in a knot," Theodore responded, he looked at Daphne, "Why'd you insist on bringing her with? This was our thing."

"Meadow's got the best knowledge on this stuff," Daphne shot back. "Just because it was once our thing doesn't mean we don't include others—besides, you're always off on a rant about how Meadow always spends time with the Gryffindors and never us! Well, now she's spending time with us and you hate it? Don't be so hypocritical!"

"Look—if you don't want me here, I'll go," Meadow said as she got up from the chair she was sitting in.

"Yes! Leave!"

"No! You're staying!" Daphne gave Meadow a hard look. "I want you here. You're our friend, and whether Theo likes it or not, you're staying. I know you want to learn these spells just as much as I do."

"I just don't want to get between you two," Meadow replied after a thought. "You've known each other for a long time, I don't want to be the reason you're no longer friends."

"No," Theodore spoke up. "Daphne's right," he sighed. "I'm being thick. You're our friend, and I've just been annoyed that we seem like an afterthought to you."

Meadow gawked at him, "You're not an afterthought! I swear to you." She looked at Daphne and back at Theodore. "I just—you both seem capable of not getting into trouble or needing my help for anything. . . I do not think of you as a second choice. You're both my friends and, yes, I'm friends with some Gryffindors too. I know it's unconventional, but they're a different kind of friendship. Shane—Shane's been my friend since we were little kids. I couldn't give him up—just like I'd never ask you two to give up being friends with each other. I—I guess I've just had a poor way of expressing that I really do value your friendship."

She looked between the two, Theodore's face was flushed the tiniest bit and Daphne had tears in her eyes. Meadow's lower lip started to tremble. "You're my best friends in Slytherin," her voice shook. "You accepted me into your group without a second thought and even took my word for it when Pansy pushed me down the stairs that first night. I—I couldn't imagine not having you two as my friends." Silent tears rolled down her eyes, she couldn't believe she had neglected the friendship between Theodore and Daphne so badly.

Daphne rushed over and pulled Meadow close. The two girls embraced as tears trailed down their cheeks. Slowly, Theodore took the few steps over to the girls and they pulled him into a hug as well. "Yuck, you two are so sappy," he said, though the grin on his face said he was glad for the reassurance from Meadow.

The three broke into spurts of laughter as they pulled apart. "Alright," Meadow said, chuckling as she wiped her eyes. "Are we ready to try this jinx?"

Daphne and Theodore nodded and Meadow grabbed the book. "Right, then. The hand movement is a bit like a check mark with a squiggly tail—" she saw a chalk board out of the corner of her eye and went over to it, drawing out what she meant. "—And the incantation is fli-PEN-doh. But obviously all together it sounds like _Flipendo!_"

"Fantastic, we have the basics, let's try it!" Theodore said, his voice a lot cheerier.

"Try it on a desk or something," Daphne said. "I don't want to be disoriented or knocked off my feet."

As the three started to practice, there were many failed attempts and laughter throughout the night. Daphne was the first to get the hang of the jinx, not that it was too difficult of a spell. Within a few tries Meadow got a desk to fly across the room with a loud bang and a clatter of wood mashing against wood.

When the three finally headed into the Slytherin common room for the night, Meadow came face-to-beak with Elemental, whom was clicking his beak impatiently. He was sat upon the headboard of her bed. The coin pouch still tied to his leg and a thin box wrapped up in brown paper and twine sat upon her bed. Bee was angrily pacing at the end of the bed, scowling at the owl, her ears twitching fanatically in all different directions. Meadow pulled out some owl treats from her trunk after she unlocked it and tossed it to him. Elemental gobbled it down and stuck out his leg.

Meadow let out a huff in annoyance at the proud bird and untied the pouch. Elemental gave an affectionate nibble to her fingers before he took off, flying in the middle of the walkway, between the beds, and off though the open window at the end of the room. Their dormitories were above the lake, not by much, as Meadow's dormitory was the highest up due to being a first year.

Meadow looked around the room and realized she never fully studied how each girl decorated their wall space behind their respective beds. Meadow, of course, had pictures hung up that she took throughout the year with her friends when they'd agree. Though, the pictures weren't fancy at all, she never developed them to move, so they were very much Muggle pictures that unblinkingly stared at you, frozen. Maybe eventually she'd get around to bewitching them, but she didn't mind the dated look. She also had Bee's bowls in front of her nightstand that was on the left, and toys scattered around her bed; under her bed, the supply of food for the lynx, which is what Meadow started to suspect Bee actually was instead of a cat. Meadow had a basket of dirty clothes, but every day those clothes were cleaned and hung back up to her wardrobe which was upon the wall that had the door to and from the small dormitory.

Daphne's bed was to the left of Meadow's area. And the Ice Queen had posters of the Weird Sisters, both the Holyhead Harpies and Montrose Magpies Quidditch posters up ("Because the Holyhead Harpies are girl power and the Montrose Magpies are attractive, especially with their Scottish accents" Daphne once told Meadow), among other "attractive" famous wizards. Daphne also had a picture of herself with two dogs. The three of them were snuggled together for the night, sleeping. But during the day, Daphne in the photo would be laughing as the golden retriever would wiggle around on the ground, sticking its tongue out and then jumping up, shoving her face into Daphne's chest. The other dog was a Great Dane, who was laying down behind Daphne, his eyes looking at her lovingly as he would place his head on Daphne's shoulder and then move his head off, looking at something out of the frame.

Hestia's bed was across from Meadow's, and it was decorated in mostly Slytherin banners with the occasional photograph of her and her sister. There was one old picture, who Meadow assumed were the twin's parents, as Hestia and Flora were raised by their aunt and uncle. But Hestia's area was plain otherwise, she didn't seem to bring very much to decorate with or perhaps she didn't have much at home to decorate with. Meadow wasn't sure as she never stepped foot into the other room to check out Flora's getup.

Tracey's bed was the last one, she pushed her bed all the way in the corner of the room, making it even further away from the other three beds. Not that it mattered much, Tracey seemed to keep her things as spread out as possible, still managing to hold onto the space she didn't even use anymore by throwing her clothes all over the ground in that section. She had posters, banners, photographs, scarves all strung along the wall. Despite Tracey's unwillingness to be in the dormitory often, she took up a lot of space in the room.

It wasn't a big deal to Meadow; she had her area and that was more than enough for her. It did bug Daphne, however, she complained about the mess often, saying it was disrespectful to the rest of the room having being forced to look at the mess. And Meadow couldn't disagree with that logic, but she was adamant about not starting anymore drama.

Daphne drew the curtains around her bed, joining Tracey and Hestia in sleep. Meadow changed quickly and jumped into her bed, drawing the curtains, and she opened the box. What lay there was a beautiful leather bond notebook that had a handprint stitched onto the cover. Meadow put her hand on it and it glowed a soft yellow before unlocking. Meadow raised the journal up to her nose; the earthy scent filled her nose and she breathed a sigh of relief. It was everything she wanted, which was self-locking and only recognized her.

That night, Meadow fell asleep with the journal clutched tight to her chest, even though there was nothing written in it yet.

-.-.-

In the following week, Meadow didn't notice that she was spending more time with Daphne and Theodore until the Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff was upon them. It was all anyone could talk about—that Professor Snape was refereeing the match. However, this didn't stop Meadow from asking Shane to borrow a Gryffindor jumper from him the night before. She wanted to show her support for Harry, and it didn't matter to her what anyone would say. Though, her nerve got the best of her that morning, she was just about to head down for breakfast in the old-school, washed out marron Gryffindor jumper when she flaked out and changed into the thin Slytherin jumper. Since the weather was warmer the castle wasn't nearly as drafty and cold as it once was. Meadow packed the jumper into her backpack and brought it with her.

The jumper wasn't very subtle, as it was a bright marron with a thick, gold strip across the chest and upper arms with a smaller, white stripe just under it. It might have been Remus's jumper from when he went to school. It even had a collar on it, so it must have been an older style from years before. After a quick breakfast, where Meadow watched Harry pick at his food, once again signaling that his nerves were getting the best of him.

Granted, Meadow couldn't blame Harry for his nerves. Meadow's own stomach was turning for this match. She didn't truly before that her father was trying to off Harry, but there was definitely something funny going on since he's refereeing this match. Besides, the amount of penalties that her father could award Hufflepuff could really screw up Gryffindor even having a fair shot at the Quidditch Inner-House Cup. So, the quicker the snitch was caught by Harry or the Hufflepuff seeker. . . the better.

As breakfast finished up, Daphne and Theodore bid Meadow a farewell, as the two knew she'd be off cheering with her Gryffindor friends. They'd be watching the match as well, just rooting for Hufflepuff and the three agreed to watch separately.

Meadow dashed off to catch up to her Gryffindor friends. She dug into her backpack and pulled out the jumper. As she fidgeted with it to get out of the bag, Meadow caught up with them. Harry looked extremely pale as they headed through the courtyard and onto the covered bridge towards the grounds. Finally, Meadow was able to get the jumper out and she stuck one arm through, switched her bag over to that arm and put her other arm through. She pulled it over her head and from a distance, it looked like five Gryffindors walking down to the quidditch pitch together.

"It'll be alright, Harry," Meadow said, breaking the silence.

"Thanks, Doe," He replied somberly.

They fell quiet again. Just the sound of their footsteps was heard as they walked. The group wish Harry one last "Good luck" before he pushed through the doors and into the locker rooms.

Meadow, Shane, Hermione, and Ron all shared nervous glances, unsure of how Harry's health would be after this match. They hurried off into the stands looking grim as they prepared for the worst. They saddled next to Neville, who was already in the stands. "Hiya!" He said cheerfully, unbeknownst to him the danger that Harry was in.

As Meadow scanned the crowd, it seemed as though the whole school was there. Hermione's voice gained Meadow's attention during her search. "Now, don't forget, it's _Locomotor Mortis._"

"_We _know," Shane grumbled.

"Don't nag," Ron added, his voice tense, worried, and annoyed.

But whatever the three Gryffindors were potentially planning on doing with that leg-locker curse, it didn't matter. Meadow caught sight of a particular long, silver beard in one of the higher stands. Dumbledore was in attendance, meaning Harry's life was no longer in danger. Now the only problem would be to get the snitch before Snape awards too many penalties to Hufflepuff.

And, perhaps, that was why Snape looked so grumpy and mean as he sulked onto the field, broom in hand. However, yellow and black robes tore Meadow's attention away from her father as Lee Jordan announced the Hufflepuff team:

"Here comes Hufflepuff onto the field! And their Chasers are Malcolm Preece, Heidi Macavy, and Ericka Eekins! Beaters, Maxine O'Flaheety—"

Meadow gave a small "huh," as she heard the name, this was the second girl who claimed a spot as a beater.

"—and Captain Anthony Pickett! Seeker Cedric Diggory! And Keeper Herbert Fleet! Give some support for your Hufflepuff team!" A roar surged from the Hufflepuff supporters. "And now, yourssss truly! The Gryffindors!" Lee elevated his voice so it rose above the cheers that Meadow and the Gryffindor supporters joined in on. "The lovely ladies who are not only beautiful but also—"

"JORDAN!" McGonagall yelled.

"Facts, Professor! Facts!" Lee said, "—The Gryffindor Chasers are Angelina Johnson, Katie Bell, and Alicia Spinnet! The Beaters are your favorite twin tricksters! Fred and George Weasley! Next up is the famous and fantastic flyer, Seeker Harry Potter! And beloved by all, Quidditch fanatic Captain Oliver Wood as your Keeper!" Lee's voice grew excited as he announced the Gryffindor team. The cheers from the stands grew louder as both teams gathered in the middle of the pitch.

"I've never seen Snape look so mean," Ron commented from behind Meadow. He and Shane were one level above Meadow and Hermione. Meadow watched as Wood and Pickett shook hands, it was a normal, friendly-competition handshake. Not one that fought for crushing bones as Flint would often been seen trying to hurt the other captain. "Look—they're off—" the fourteen players pushed off the ground racing after their own tasks that were given. "—Ouch!"

Someone poked Ron in the back of the head. Though, Meadow didn't turn to see who it was, she needed to watch this match, besides, she had a sinking suspicion that she knew—

"Oh, sorry, Weasley! Didn't see you there!" Draco's voice said laced with sarcasm. "Wonder how long Potter's going to stay on his broom this time. Anyone want to bet? What about you, Weasley?"

In her head, Meadow wished for Ron not to answer and for Draco to stop talking. As the match was the most intense game of the season—and her father just awarded Hufflepuff a penalty shot as George hit a Bludger at him. Meadow rolled her eyes, she couldn't blame George, though it did surprise her that it wasn't Fred who did it. Next to her, Hermione had her fingers crossed in her lap so hard, her knuckles were white, and her eyes were squinted up at Harry, fixed on him. Harry was circling around the pitch, above the game, looking for the snitch like a hawk looking for its next meal. Though, Meadow only got one of her wishes, Ron ignored Draco, but Draco—

"You know how I think they choose people for the Gryffindor team?" he drawled on a few minutes later, just as Professor Snape awarded Hufflepuff with another penalty for no reason.

"What for!" Lee Jordan's voice echoed across the stadium as the Gryffindor supporters gave a collective groan. "What penalty? Eekins takes the shot—WHAT A SAVE FROM WOOD! Amazing! Despite the referee's best attempts to give some ILLEGAL leniency towards Hufflepuff, Wood manages to block it!"

Meadow cheered along with the crowd as her eyes darted between the quaffle, her father, and Harry.

"It's people they feel sorry for," Draco continued, unbothered by the quidditch match at all. "See, there's Potter, who's got no parents, then there's the Weasleys, who've got no money—you should be on the team, Longbottom, you've got no brains-!"

"I—I'm worth tw-twelve of y-you, Malfoy!" Neville stammered, and Meadow could tell his courage was gathering up.

Pride surged through Meadow for Neville, despite the howls of laughter coming from Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle.

"You tell him, Neville," Ron said.

"Longbottom, if brains were gold, you'd be poorer than Weasley, though Lupin may have the Weasley's beat!" Draco fell into a fit of laughter again. "And that's saying something!" He had managed to add before doubling over in laughter.

Anger replaced the pride that had once been through her body. Meadow was protective over Shane, quickly she turned around, whipped out her wand, pointing at Draco's shins, and muttered "_Filpendo!" _Draco was knocked off his feet and fell back, arse first on one of the stands as his feet rose above his waist. The loud bang was barely heard over the screaming crowd, something was happening on the Quidditch Pitch. She turned around before he recognized her. There were a lot of girls with blonde hair at Hogwarts, it's not like Meadow was the only one, she rationalized in her head.

"I'm warning you, Malfoy—one more word—" Ron said, his teeth grinding as he didn't notice what Meadow did.

"Ron!" Hermione said suddenly, jerking Meadow's full attention back onto the game. "Harry-!"

Meadow finally caught sight of Harry as he was in a spectacular dive, that must have been what the cheers and gasps were about from before. Meadow jumped up onto her feet as she clasped a hand over her mouth. Harry streaked towards the ground like a bullet.

"Ahah," Draco said as he clambered to his feet, looking around to make sure no one noticed that he fell off the stands. "You're in luck, boys, Potter's obviously spotted some money on the ground!" Draco antagonized Ron and Shane more.

The two boys snapped, Meadow felt the rush of wind from them as they jumped Draco, but Meadow couldn't find the effort to care anymore. Draco needed a good arse kicking, and Ron and Shane had a reason to be the ones to give it. The scuffle was then joined by Neville, Crabbe, and Goyle. Their yelps and "OUCHS!" filled the air under Meadow and Hermione, but the two girls didn't look away from the match. In fact, Meadow wasn't even sure if Hermione realized there was a fight occurring under them.

Meadow's father just turned on his broom in the air and Harry—a streak of scarlet and gold flew by him, missing him by a few mere inches—then—

"POTTER'S CAUGHT THE SNITCH!" Lee was jumping up and down, shouting into the megaphone, "POTTER'S CAUGHT THE SNITCH! THAT MUST BE A RECORD!"

Harry pulled out of the dive and held his arm up—the golden snitch flashing in his enclosed hand. The stadium erupted, it was the fastest Quidditch match that anyone could remember—later it would be announced that it was the fastest game won by Gryffindor, but for now, the Gryffindors and supporters rushed the field, cheering for Harry.

Out of the corner of her eye, Meadow saw her father land, white faced and tight lipped, as he spit on the field and walked off. The game didn't even last five minutes, and as the crowd got closer, Meadow noticed that Professor Dumbledore had a hand on Harry's shoulder. He said something and walked off the pitch as well.

The crowd made it to Harry, who was beaming around at them all. He was lifted up onto two Gryffindors shoulders as they paraded him around. Meadow and Hermione whooped and hollered as they jumped up and down with the rest of the Gryffindors. Shane was cradling his wrist and Ron had a heavy nosebleed, a trail of blood running down his chin as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

Neville had been knocked unconscious by Crabbe and Goyle, but Percy was nearby and saw the altercation. Percy, being Percy, took points away from each house, a point for each student, well, and an additional five from Slytherin due to Neville being knocked out, and sent the Slytherins off running towards the castle. Draco had a black eye and was shaken up from Shane and Ron jumping him. Percy gathered up Neville and escorted him to the hospital wing for Madam Pomfrey to tend to the boy.

And somehow, Meadow found herself next to none other than George Weasley, who was grinning broadly at her as he eyed the outdated Gryffindor jumper. He pulled her off to the side, a few feet from the crowd that was still celebrating around Harry. "Those colors suit you," he teased her as he leaned against the stadium wall.

Meadow bit her bottom lip as she smirked. "I bet you'd suit Slytherin colors too if you'd try them on," Meadow responded without thinking. A blush crept up from her neck to her cheeks, "Good job—you know, on the win."

George laughed, "Yeah, I helped a lot for a game that lasted three minutes."

"Oh yes, you helped a lot, like hitting that bludger towards my father," Meadow giggled and George winked at her. "Not that he didn't deserve it or anything, you know, with all the misery he puts the Gryffindors through. . . was the penalty worth it?" She teased him. There was a bit of hair that was misplaced from the match, Meadow reached up and put her fingers through his hair, smoothing back the hair. George didn't flinch back from the touch, and Meadow felt tingles rush through her arm. But also, sweat. Quickly, she rubbed her hand on black jean pants that she had on.

"Penalty definitely worth it," George replied, his eyes on hers, as if inviting her into his mind. She searched his face, waiting for him to say what was on his mind. Meadow realized how much taller George was compared to her in that moment, even with the chucky, heeled boots she had on. His head was bent down so it was close to hers. "Come to the party after, you'll blend right in with that jumper on," he said softly.

Meadow laughed, "Did you take a Bludger to the face when I wasn't looking? I can't be in the Gryffindor common room!"

"You can borrow one of my jumpers if you want to be less. . . vibrant," he smirked, looking at her jumper again. It really did stand out a bit, the style was definitely something from Remus's years at Hogwarts.

Meadow shook her head, "You are unbelievable. If I get caught—"

"You won't, only Percy would catch on, but there'll will be so many people there no one would know," George protested.

-.-.-

Somehow, George convinced Meadow to go with him. She waited for the twins outside of the locker room. Happily, they collected her and rushed off to the kitchen. Fred was unbothered by Meadow's appearance and rather embraced her as she joined them.

"Look sharp!" Fred said as he tossed a bottle of pumpkin juice at her.

Meadow caught it with ease. "Did you hope that I'd miss that?" She laughed as she held up the bottle.

"Not at all!" Fred replied as he loaded Meadow's backpack with more pumpkin juice and some pitchers of gillywater. He and George had their arms full with cakes and treats. "Ah, I think that'll be enough! Thank you house elves!"

The three, arms full, went up to the Gryffindor Tower. And George was right, no one batted an eye at Meadow as she was in Gryffindor colors. Despite being the notorious Professor Snape's daughter, one good thing is that her mother had strong genes, and Meadow really didn't look much like Severus at all apart from his eyes. Besides, most people didn't bat an eye at her now, given her known friendship with Harry Potter.

Meadow really was enjoying herself when Shane came up to her, a glum look upon his face. Without a second thought, Meadow grabbed her backpack headed after Shane and out of the portrait. "Harry, where have you been?" Hermione's voice asked.

"This does not look like a celebrating, happy pow-wow," Meadow said as she stepped out.

"Wait until you hear this," Harry said seriously. "Let's find an empty classroom—"

Once in one, Harry turned to the four, "I followed Snape on my broom into the Forbidden forest," he said and looked at four shocked faces. "He met Quirrell there. Quirrell was obviously frightened—he was stuttering worse than usual:

"'_. . . d-don't know why y-you wanted t-t-to meet here of all p-places, Severus. . .' _

"'_Oh, I thought we'd keep this private.' _Snape said, _'Students aren't supposed to know about the Philosopher's Stone, after all.'_

"Quirrell was about to say something, but Snape cut him off _'Have you found out how to get past that beast of Hagrid's yet?'_

"'_B-b-but, Severus, I—'_

"'_You don't want me as your enemy, Quirrell,' _And Snape stepped toward him really threateningly." Harry said, changing his voice up for both Quirrell and Snape. He did do some good impressions of the two Professors, Meadow had to admit. For Quirrell's voice, Harry made his own go up an octave or two as he stuttered. And for Snape's voice he made it slow, deep, and just as nasty.

"'_I-I don't k-know what y-you—'_

"'_You know perfectly well what I mean.' _I couldn't hear the next bit because an owl nearly gave me a heart attack," Harry said. "But I heard Snape say _'—your little bit of hocus-pocus. I'm waiting.'_

"'_B-but I d-don't—'_

"'_Very well. We'll have another little chat soon, when you've had time to think things over and decide where your loyalties lie.'_

"After that Snape left the Forbidden Forest and Quirrell just stood there, like he was petrified. I left—"

"So, we were right about the Philosopher's Stone," Shane said.

"And now we know that Snape's trying to force Quirrell—"

"I'm not so sure about that," Meadow cut Harry off. Even though Severus's actions haven't been very noble or heroic, and really, rather sketchy, Meadow did know one thing. Her father would not want a Stone that kept you immortal. "As much as Snape has been doing some questionable—"

"Questionable?" Ron barked. "He tried to murder Harry! Or did you forget?"

Meadow shook her head, "Look, all I'll say is that given what the Stone does—he doesn't have a use for it, or would he want it."

"We can have this debate once we know the Stone is safe," Harry said. "But Snape's our best suspect right now, Doe." He looked between the two before his eyes landed on Meadow longer, sympathy in his eyes. "Look, I reckon there are other things guarding the Stone apart from Fluffy, loads of enchantments, probably, and Quirrell would have done some anti-Dark Arts spell that Snape needs to break thought—"

"So, as long as Quirrell stands up to Snape," Hermione said, her eyes flickering sympathetically to Meadow, "the Stone will be safe?"

"I'll be gone by next Tuesday," Ron shook his head.

Meadow let out a breath of annoyance and bid the four a goodnight, shaking her head in disbelief. Her father going after the stone was no more believable than Fluffy being a dragon in disguise. Especially since her father just wanted her mother back, and if St. Mungo's Healers didn't have answers; a magic stone, that turned metal into gold and allowed someone to live forever, wouldn't have any answers either.

-.-.-


	18. 18 Classification XXXXX

**Enjoy! **

Miracle

_Meadow let out a breath of annoyance and bid the four a goodnight, shaking her head in disbelief. Her father going after the stone was no more believable than Fluffy being a dragon in disguise. Especially since her father just wanted her mother back, and if St. Mungo's Healers didn't have answers; a magic stone, that turned metal into gold and allowed someone to live forever, wouldn't have any answers either. _

Chapter 18: Classification XXXXX

Still shaking her head in disbelief as she walked back to the Slytherin common room, she forgot all about the party in the Gryffindor Tower. She was nearly to her common room before she realized she still had on the Gryffindor jumper. Blinking away her shock, she quickly took it off and shoved it in her bag, thankful that she grabbed it before following Shane. Meadow entered the common room on auto-pilot and she weaved through the Slytherins who were in the common room. Most of which were still all complaining about Hufflepuff's defeat and it wasn't fair that a first year was allowed on Gryffindor's quidditch team. Meadow didn't jump in on the discussion, she figured if she didn't have anything to agree with, it was best to not let the Slytherins know she was happy for Harry and the Gryffindors on their win. It was a fair win, despite the odds being stacked against them because of the biased referee.

As she fell into her bed, she drew the curtains around her and wished for sleep. But her mind was racing. What the bloody hell was her father doing threatening another teacher? And in the Forbidden Forest? Does he know that she and the Gryffindors know about the Philosopher's Stone? What does he know? Why does he want to get past Fluffy?

The questions kept coming up into her mind, either new ones or repeating questions. She wasn't sure when she finally drifted off to sleep. It was a restless sleep, Meadow was tossing and turning throughout the night, never once entering a deep sleep.

-.-.-

In the following week, Quirrell was getting thinner and paler, but didn't seem like he cracked yet, under whatever pressure he was being put under. And with Snape's bad temper, the Gryffindors concluded that Quirrell was the victim, and the Stone was safe. Every time any of the five passed the third-floor, they'd press their ears against the door to check that Fluffy was still growling inside.

Daphne caught Meadow once and copied her, pressing her ear against the door, and she heard Fluffy for the first time. Daphne backed away from the door, "I'll never try to find out what's behind that door."

"You'd never be able to handle Care of Magical Creatures!" Meadow teased her, focusing on Daphne rather than Fluffy.

"Oh, when we're able to pick our electives, I will stay CLEAR of that class!" Daphne laughed, "No way, no how will I ever take that class."

Thankfully, after that, Daphne just pushed Meadow's curiosity about the growling behind the door was about trying to figure out what was behind it.

Another thing that Meadow didn't approve of during the few weeks that had past, were Ron and Shane drawing attention to themselves by telling people off for making fun of Quirrell's stutter, which wasn't something they did earlier in the year. And Harry would smile at Quirrell more. Meadow just couldn't place it, but she felt more on edge around Quirrell, like something was off about the young Professor.

Thankfully, reliable Hermione came in clutch for not making any changes to her personality towards Quirrell. She was just as knowledgeable on each subject, drawing the usual attention of shooting her hand up into the air to answer questions and gain more Gryffindor house points. Of course, Meadow still found Hermione's incapability to keep her mouth shut when not called on, as the girl would still blurt out answers, showing off her retained information, as insufferable as the first day on the train.

Hermione even started to draw up study schedules and color-coding all her notes, despite exams being two and a half months away. Though, to get the boys to quit complaining about Hermione's obsession with school, Meadow gave in and agreed to allow Hermione to schedule study sessions with Meadow.

"Exams are ages away!" Ron complained when Meadow and Hermione were discussing how often and when to meet to study.

Meadow threw Ron a dirty look, as she was doing this for him, too.

"Ten weeks! That's not ages!" Hermione snapped. "That's like a second to Nicolas Flamel!"

"But we're not six hundred years old," Shane reminded her gently.

"What are you even studying for? You already know it all."

"What am I studying for?" Hermione squawked at Ron. "Are you crazy? You do realize we need to pass these exams to get into second year? They're very important! I should have started studying a month ago, I don't know what I was thinking. . ."

-.-.-

The teachers were thinking along the same lines as Hermione as they started to pile the homework on more and more the closer exams came. Meadow got into the swing of things as she grew to split her time between studying or working on homework in the library with Hermione during the day, and after dinner practicing spells and charms with Daphne and Theodore in an empty classroom. Though, she was starting to feel overwhelmed with the amount of information Hermione was throwing at her; that girl was going above and beyond what their first-year classes were teaching them about. Nevertheless, Meadow was still grateful for Hermione's help as they quizzed each other and revamped their homework together. And, at least, Potions and Transfiguration came naturally to Meadow, allowing her to correct Hermione on occasion. Both classes were the bulk of the two teachers piling on more homework, more than the rest of the professors.

Professor Snape assigned essay after essay about various material. One night, Hermione and Meadow were working on the latest essay her father assigned: Write an essay on ONE of the twelve uses of Dragon blood. The two girls got to work in quiet as they utilized their Potions book, _Magical Drafts and Potions _by Arsenius Jigger, and a book they were required to buy, but didn't have a specific class for, as it was used in both Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts, _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_ by Newt Scamander. Which, Mr. Scamander's book was utilized in a bunch of classes, heavily used in Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts, often in Transfiguration, and occasionally in Herbology, Charms, and History of Magic—mostly for clarification on specific animals.

_There are twelve uses of Dragon's blood in the magical word. While some are mundane purposes, such as using it as ink or for dying clothing blood red, there are other more magical purposes in the wizarding world such as raw use or in potions. These uses were discovered by Professor Albus Dumbledore, the current Headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardly. One of the most notable uses of Dragon's Blood is its healing properties. _

_The healing properties of Dragon's blood is used in different forms, such as its raw form of liquid blood or through the use of dragon meat; however, it can also be used diluted, most commonly, in various healing potions. The different potions will also require different parts of the dragon, such as dragon blood, dragon liver, dragon scales, and other parts of the dragon. To name a few of these potions that utilize any part of the dragon in them, as none of these ingredients are dried, and stored in Dragon blood, it feels appropriate to include all parts of the dragon. These potions include, but are not a full list, are: The Healing Potion, Wound-Cleaning Potion, Mandrake Restorative Draught, Blood-Replenishing Potion, and Burn-Healing Paste. Though, it should be noted and acknowledged that both the Healing Potion and Wound-Cleaning Potion can be made without dragon blood. However, without the inclusion of dragon's blood, the potions are not as strong, still effective, but not as potent. _

_Dragon's blood can come from different dragons. The color and texture of the blood may differ from each type of dragon. And each dragon type may be utilized in any potion that requires it, there are hypothesis that are being tested for which dragon's blood is more powerful in different potions. _

_Dragon's blood can also be used by itself as a healing property. Such as, in the form of dragon meat and holding it to the injury. Dragon meat is packaged and stored in dragon blood, therefore, the reason why it is included in this essay. Though, in its raw form, such as on uncooked dragon meat, it will heal the injury in a much slower manor. However, if the injured person does not have access to a cauldron and potions ingredients, the meat or blood would be a perfectly acceptable way to heal oneself. _

_In conclusion, dragon's blood varies in color and texture due to type of dragon extracted from, the healing properties of this blood are vast, and the most effective way to utilize its healing properties is through healing potions. _

"What did you write about?" Hermione asked once Meadow put her quill down. She had already finished her essay a minute or two ago. The tiny letters forming tiny sentences so Hermione could cram in as much information as possible to the footlong parchment.

"The healing properties of Dragon's blood," Meadow responded, sliding her paper over to the Gryffindor. "It seemed fitting since I know more about potions than anything else those twelve uses are. Besides, I didn't know how to talk about dying clothing blood red for twelve inches unless I wrote like Ron's handwriting."

"Oooh," Hermione replied and slid her essay towards Meadow. "I wrote mine on the cleaning properties. Though, I managed to look up a company that uses dragon blood in its recipe."

Meadow nodded in response and read through Hermione's essay:

_The twelve uses of dragon blood were discovered by the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Professor Dumbledore. However, Ivor Dillonsby claimed he already discovered eight of those twelve uses. Dillonsby claimed that Professor Dumbledore "borrowed" and later said "stole" his notes on the uses of dragon blood he discovered. Of the twelve uses credited by Professor Dumbledore, Dillonsby claimed he discovered the more practical uses of Dragon Blood, one of these practical uses is using dragon blood as a cleaner. It is used either by itself or in cleaning potions._

_The cleaner properties of Dragon Blood include being used to clean ovens, as the blood will dissolve though grease and burnt food off the ovens to restore looking "better than new." The blood alone can be put into a spray bottle, expelled onto the surface of the inside of an oven, and left to sit for at least twenty minutes for the blood to take the most beneficial effect. Dragon blood is more effect than the cleaning charm, _Scourgify,_ as it acts as a deep cleaner rather than just soapy water, or vanishing bits of the baked-on burnt food. _

_Dragon Blood can also be diluted in a potion for different cleaning uses, depending on the potion made and the charm or spell cast to finish the potion. It is rumored to be used in Mrs. Skower's All-Purpose Magical Mess Cleaner, but given the known information of how expensive Dragon Blood in and how Mrs. Skower's All-Purpose Magical Mess Cleaner is not only easy to obtain, but also relatively cost-efficient, this seems impossible. However, Dragon Blood is a listed ingredient on L. Wakefield's Broom care Wax. As broom wax is supposed to keep brooms polished, glossy, and riding smoothly, one wouldn't think that Dragon Blood would be included. However, due to its known effect of returned an oven to "cleaner than new" it may give the same clean effect to brooms, restoring said broom to better than new._

_Dragon Blood is also used as a spot cleaner. No potion is necessary for this type of cleaning, as Dragon Blood in its natural, liquid form is best used on top of any stain, mess, or discoloration of surfaces—_

Meadow stopped reading and looked up to Hermione's nervous face. The rest of the essay Hermione wrote involved how to use dragon's blood as a spot cleaning on spots, and evidently repeated the same pattern as before of explaining, reexplaining, and using an example. It wasn't Meadow's cup of tea, but it was one of the ways dragon's blood is used. "Looks good," she said as she met Hermione's brown eyes. "Are you sure you're not over-doing the essay? My dad did ask for one use to be explained—"

"Cleaning is only one use! I can't help that there's more than one way to use it for cleaning!" Hermione squawked, earning the two dirty looks from a few students nearby.

Meadow shrugged, handing back the paper as she reached for her essay Hermione held onto it, looking at it tearfully.

"Your paper looks really good," Hermione said finally and handed it back. "I should have thought to stick with potions since this is for Professor Snape. . . he is a Potion's Master, after all."

Meadow shook her head. "The instructions clearly say to write about _one_ of the twelve uses of Dragon's Blood and doesn't ever specify which one. Any of the twelve uses is a perfectly acceptable answer," she reminded Hermione.

"Yes, yes. . ." Hermione said, biting her lips anxiously. "You're right. I'm being stupid—"

"Don't say that," Meadow said sharply. Hermione looked up startled. "You are not stupid. Not at all. You are one of, if not _the _brightest witch of our class. _And _you never knew of the wizarding world before this? You have an insane amount of knowledge on Hogwarts and all the classes. Bloody hell, you're doing better than most purebloods in our year!"

Hermione's chin started to shake as she tried to hold in tears. She never got compliments like that from the boys, though, why should she? Ron always complained that she was studying before begging her to help him with his homework. Harry tended to do his own homework after Quidditch practice alone. And Shane was just a generally quiet person and social interactions made him uncomfortable, though, he had been doing better this year.

"Thank you," Hermione's voice was quiet and it cracked slightly, though a small smile played on her face.

Meadow placed a hand over her friend's, "You don't need to thank you, you just need to remember you are an amazing witch. You don't have to keep proving it over and over. You probably will get top marks on all the exams. Probably even the best marks of our class. And you're a great, no—you're an amazing friend, Hermione—I wouldn't even be studying right now if it weren't for you."

Hermione gave a soft, half-hearted chuckle, "Shane told me you'd never study before. That you two went to a muggle school together?"

"Yeah," Meadow smiled. "We did. And he's right, I never did study before because I always knew I was coming to Hogwarts," she winked at her friend. "I thought he said he'd show up today? Do you know where he is?"

"The Hospital Wing, he said he wasn't feeling very well again. He went this morning," Hermione replied with a frown. "You know, I'm beginning to think he's got some sort of magical aliment, or maybe he has cancer? But I know cancer treatments cause hair-loss, well, at least how they treat cancer in the Muggle world—oh! And they go more than once a month. But then again, what else could it be? Maybe he has stomach ulcers? But wouldn't that clear up as soon as Madam Pomfrey gave him a potion?—" Hermione continued to ramble on about possible aliments that Shane could have, but Meadow ignored her. She had other things on her mind.

In fact, Meadow had forgot all about the notebook she bought a few weeks ago strictly for the notes she was taking on Shane. "Yeah. . ." Meadow said quietly as her mind started running on her werewolf theory. "I think I'm done for today. We got a lot done. . . I don't want to overload my brain."

"We didn't even do that much today. . ." Hermione said sadly as Meadow packed up her bag.

"Sorry," Meadow's voice was distant. She grabbed her bag and headed out of the library, leaving Hermione looking dismayed and confused.

But upsetting her friend didn't both Meadow much as she rushed off to her room. Down the stairs, though the corridors, around corners, passed the wall, up the stairs, through the door, and into her room. Quickly, she unlocked her trunk and gathered all her notes from the secret compartment in the bottom of her trunk. Shutting it just as quickly, Meadow grabbed the self-locking notebook from her nightstand, ignoring Hestia and Flora's jumbled looks. She pulled the curtains around her violently and sat crisscrossed on the bed and reorganized her notes. Given she was writing in a journal before, as she still does, the notes were much wordier than they needed to be. And she didn't need the moon calendars for visual effect anymore—what was the point if she only needed to know the dates of the full moon? However, instead of writing what she knew so far on Shane's absences, she opened up her book from Author Newt Scamander to read the chapter on werewolves.

"_Werewolf. M.O.M. classification: XXXXX. **Note, this classification refers, of course, to the werewolf in its transformed state. When there is no full moon the werewolf is as harmless as any other human. For the heartrending account of one Wizard's battle with lycanthropy, see the classic _Hairy Snout, Human Heart _by an anonymous author published by Whizz Hard Books in 1975."_

Well, clearly this version of Mr. Scamander's _Magical Beasts and Where to Find Them_ was a revised copy. Since Mr. Scamander's first edition of the book must have been published before 1975.

"_The werewolf is found worldwide, though it is believed to have originated in northern Europe. Humans turn into werewolves when bitten; there is no known cure. Though, recent developments in potion making have to a great extent, alleviated the worst symptoms. Once a month at the full-moon, the otherwise saying normal wizard or muggle inflicted, transforms into a murderous Beast. Almost uniquely among fantastic creatures, the werewolf actively seeks humans in preference to any other kind of prey." _

Meadow huffed in annoyance. This bit of information from Newt didn't tell her anything that Meadow didn't already know. Well, at least it did refer a book on one's own experience with becoming a werewolf, but Meadow found herself disappointed at the lack of information from Newt on how to properly identify a werewolf. Scratching the idea of writing notes on the identifying factors of a werewolf, Meadow simply rewrote her notes to be more organized and less words.

In big letters at the top of the page she wrote: _SHANE LUPIN- WEREWOLF OR SICK?_

_September 21, Sunday: Shane, gone in hospital wing halfway through the day. _

_September 22, Saturday: Shane in hospital wing all day. _

_September 23, Monday: FULL MOON. Shane in hospital wing all day._

_September 24, Tuesday: Hos. Wing. All day._

_September 25, Wednesday: Back in afternoon._

_October 22, Tuesday: Gone at noon. Refused visits starting now._

_October 23, Wednesday: FULL MOON. Gone all day._

_October 24, Thursday: Gone all day._

_October 25, Friday: Back in afternoon._

_November 20, Wednesday: Gone all day._

_November 21, Thursday: FULL MOON. Gone all day._

_November 22, Friday: Gone all day._

_December… Unknown information/FULL MOON: Saturday, 21._

_January 18, Saturday: Nowhere to be seen._

_January 19, Sunday: FULL MOON. Nowhere to be seen._

_January 20, Monday: Gone all day._

_February 17, Monday: Gone all day._

_February 18, Tuesday: FULL MOON. Gone all day._

_February 19, Wednesday: Gone all day._

_March, 17, Tuesday: Hospital Wing in the morning/Gone all day._

Meadow couldn't believe it, looking at the information a second time, even December started to make sense if Shane was a werewolf. All the full moons were sometime in the third or fourth week of the month. It was too bad she wasn't into journaling when they went to muggle school together. . . she could have years of evidence pointing towards the answer. Alas, that wasn't the case, and more research would have to be done in secret. If Hermione got any whiff that Meadow suspected Shane to be a werewolf. . . Meadow cleared her head, not wanting to think about the possibility of it getting out to students.

Meadow knew one thing about werewolves, and that was that they were a feared and distrusted creature, even when in their human form. An unsettling thought crossed Meadow's mind then, if she were to spend more time with her father. . . she would see if the ingredients for the Wolfsbane Potion were being used every month in copious amounts. And to see if Shane was meeting with the Potion's Master for the potion.

Meadow touched the locket upon her necklace, wondering what she could do without it seeming too obvious that she wanted to see what her father was up to with his potions he brewed on the side. She jumped up and went back into her trunk, digging through it, she found the book her father gave her for Christmas. _Book of Potions_ by Zygmunt Budge, a self-proclaimed "greatest potion-maker ever born." Though, Meadow couldn't necessarily disagree, as the wizard had invented many of the world's potions. She hopped back on her bed and opened the book.

"_I am Zygmunt Budge, and I am the greatest potion-maker ever born. This is no empty boast. I invented many of the wizarding world's most powerful potions. I discovered the properties of hundreds of secret plants and creatures. I have dedicated my life to the most mysterious and misunderstood branch of magic, and these pages contain the secrets of my art, distilled for new generations of Hogwarts students,"_ the foreword read in the book and Meadow couldn't help but roll her eyes slightly. She skimmed the rest of the foreword, slightly intrigued by this man.

"_As I've said, it was my life's dream to win the Wizarding Schools Potions Championship. When I judged that I was ready, I was fourteen years old, top of my year in Potions, and able to correct my Professor on the proper use of Mackled Malaclaw tails. I asked my Headmaster for permission to enter. But, alas, imagine my horror and disgust when he forbade me! Because I was not yet seventeen, and the competition was 'too dangerous.'"_

Now Meadow really rolled her eyes, of course he wasn't allowed to enter the Wizarding Schools Potions Championship. There are age restrictions for a reason—like first years weren't able to join a lot of the clubs at Hogwarts due to them being dangerous and many of the students here were Muggleborns. Shaking her head at the man's words, she turned the page to look at the contents covered in this book. Wolfsbane Potion was not covered. Though, this didn't surprise Meadow much as Zygmunt Budge was born sometime between the late 15th century or early 16th century. And the Wolfbane Potion was created by Damocles Belby, she knew that from her Defense Against the Dark Arts book.

Deciding the hunt was pointless for now, Meadow tried to visit Shane in the hospital wing, but it too, was pointless as Madam Pomfrey stopped her from even entering and scolded her for trying to visit someone who was sick. Since Meadow didn't want anyone to know about her hunch, she turned around and left the hospital wing.

-.-.-

Very few eventful things happened the next few weeks apart from the professors piling on yet more homework as the Easter Holidays grew closer. Meadow's journal for Shane now had the additions of:

_March 18, Wednesday: FULL MOON. Gone all day. _

_March 19, Thursday: Gone all day. _

And that was not much to go on. So, Meadow drove into her school work, hoping to stumble across something on werewolves by accident so it didn't look like she was actively searching out information on a beast that wasn't taught in depth about until later in their Hogwarts years. Meadow didn't even want to show any interest in Sunday Tea again, because who knew what her father would find out. Meadow kept her nose down and out of trouble.

As April rolled into few and the Easter Holidays were upon them, the weather became nicer. There were fewer students at Hogwarts for the two weeks they were given for the two weeks of break. Most did stay compared to Winter Holiday, but there was the option of leaving again.

With the weather nicer, it was rather difficult to enjoy any of the sun due to the amount of homework the first years were given. Daphne and Theodore often joined Meadow in the library, so she felt as though she couldn't speak to her Gryffindor friends. However, one day it had been really nice weather, and the two decided their brains needed a break and went for a walk as Meadow found herself back in the library and with Hermione, Harry, Shane, and Ron. It grew to be quite difficult for her to concentrate with Hermione muttering under her breath, Shane anxiously tapping his foot on the ground and his quill on the desk, Harry yawning obnoxiously every few minutes, and Ron grunting and groaning though the homework he had put off until last minute.

"I'll never remember this," Ron burst out, throwing down his quill and looking longingly out of the library window. Meadow couldn't blame him, it was the first really fine day they had in months; besides, Daphne and Theodore were both outside enjoying the weather. Meadow was sure they weren't the only ones skiving off school work. The sky was clear, forget-me-not blue, and there was a feeling in the air of summer coming.

Something caught Meadow's eye as a very tall, hairy man came into her view. "Hagrid?" She asked.

"What are you doing in the library!" Ron asked him.

Hagrid turned, hiding a book behind his back. He looked very out of place in his moleskin overcoat.

"Jus' lookin'," he said in a shifty voice that got everyone's interest at once. "An' what're you lot up ter?" He looked suddenly suspiciously at them. "Yer not still lookin' fer Nicolas Flamel, are yeh?"

"Oh, we found out who he is ages ago," Ron said impressively. "_And _we know what that dog's guarding, it's—"

"Shut _up_, Ron," Meadow hissed at him, looking around.

"_Shhh!_" Hagrid agreed and also glanced around to see if anyone was listening. "Don' go shoutin' about it, what's the matter with yeh?"

"There are a few things we wanted to ask you, as a matter of fact," Harry jumped it, "about what's guarding the Stone apart from Fluffy—"

"SHHH!" Hagrid said louder, his eyes darting around. "Listen—come an' see me later, I'm not promisin' I'll tell yeh anythin', mind, but don' go rabbitin' about it in here, students aren' s'pposed ter know. They'll think I've told yeh—"

"See you later, then," Harry said.

As Hagrid shuffled off, Meadow glared at Harry and Ron. "Are you two out of your bloody minds?" she hissed at them.

"What was he hiding behind his back?" Hermione asked thoughtfully.

"Do you think it had anything to do with the Stone?" Shane's voice grew excited.

"Bloody hell," Meadow smacked a hand against her forehead.

"I'm going to see what section he was in," Ron said, he had enough of working and disappeared into the row behind them.

"Are you obvious to everything?" Meadow snapped at Harry and Shane. "If we already know someone is trying to _steal the Stone_ why announce it to the whole library? That might just make them work faster at it before we have any idea how to bring up our research to Professor Dumbledore."

"_Dragons!"_ Ron's voice whispered, distracting the four, as he sat down again. "Hagrid was looking up stuff about dragons! Look at these: _Dragon species of Great Britain and Ireland; From Egg to Inferno, a Dragon Keeper's Guide."_

"Hagrid's always wanted a dragon, he told me so the first time I ever met him," Harry said nonchalantly, like dragons would make perfectly fine pets.

Meadow gaped at him. She knew he wasn't from this world, but still, dragons were terrifying beasts—even in the Muggle books Meadow read about had dragons guarding a princess and literally BURNED anyone who tried to save her.

"But it's against our laws," Ron said, for once in his life, he actually made sense and demonstrated he did have wizarding world knowledge. "Dragon breeding was outlawed by the Warlocks' Convention of 1709, everyone knows that—" well, clearly not everyone as Harry had no idea a few seconds ago, "—It's hard to stop Muggles from noticing us if we're keeping dragons in the back garden—anyway, you can't tame dragons, it's dangerous. You should see the burns Charlie's got off wild ones in Romania."

"But there aren't wild dragons in _Britain?_" Harry asked.

"Of course there are," Ron replied. "Common Welsh Green and Hebridean Blacks. The Ministry of Magic has a job hushing them up, I can tell you. Our kind have to keep putting spells on Muggles who've spotted them, to make them forget."

"So, what on earth's Hagrid up to?" Hermione asked.

"Probably doing something illegal," Meadow whispered as she thought of Hagrid raising the dragon he had always wanted.

-.-.-

When they knocked on the door of the gamekeeper's hut an hour later, they were surprised to see that all the curtains were closed. Hagrid called "Who is it?" before he let them in, and then shut the door quickly behind them. Shutting out the warm sun and cool wind they were enjoying, especially since it was stifling hot inside his cabin. Even though it was such a warm day, there was a blazing fire in the grate. Hagrid made them tea, and offered them stoat sandwiches, which they refused.

"So—yeh wanted to ask me somethin'?" Hagrid said.

"Yes," Harry said and Meadow started to fan herself with her hand. She was horrible at keeping an even temperature and took off her robe. "We were wondering if you could tell us what's guarding the Philosopher's Stone apart from Fluffy."

Hagrid frowned at Harry. "O' course, I can't," he finally said. "Number one, I don' know meself. Number two, yeh know too much already, so I wouldn' tell yeh if I could. That Stone's here fer a good reason. It was almost stolen outta Gringotts—I s'ppose yeh've worked that out an' all? Beats me how yeh even know abou' Fluffy."

"Oh, come on, Hagrid, you might not want to tell us, but you _do_ know, you know everything that goes on round here," said Hermione in a warm, flattering voice. Hagrid's beard twitched and they could tell he was smiling. "We only wondered who had _done_ the guarding really," Hermione went on, "We wondered who Dumbledore had trusted enough to help him, apart from you."

Hagrid's chest swelled at these last words and Meadow was proud of Hermione.

"Well, I don' s'pose it could hurt ter tell yeh that. . . let's see. . . he borrowed Fluffy from me. . . then some o' the teachers did enchantments. . . Professor Sprout—Professor Flitwick—Professor McGonagall—" he ticked them off on his fingers, "Professor Quirrell—an' Dumbledore himself did somethin', o' course. Hang on, I've forgotten someone. Oh yeah, Professor Snape."

"_Snape?"_ the Gryffindors gasped and Meadow rolled her eyes.

"Yeah—yer not still on abou' that, are yeh? Look, Snape helped _protect_ the Stone. He's not about ter steal it."

"No, we're not still on about him," Meadow said furiously as she glared at the four. "I told them he wasn't about to steal a stone that made gold and kept you immortal. And there might be a lot of people out there who would want that but my father is _not_ one of those people."

"Hagrid," Harry asked anxiously. "You're the only one who knows how to get past Fluffy, aren't you? And you wouldn't tell anyone, would you? Not even one of the teachers?"

"Not a soul knows except me and Dumbledore," Hagrid said proudly.

"Well, that's something," Harry muttered to them. "Hagrid, can we have a window open? I'm boiling."

Meadow was sweating, beads rolled down her forehead. She put her hair up into a pony to get it off her neck. Thankfully, she was not the only one boiling in the cabin.

"Can't, Harry, sorry," Hagrid said, he glanced at the fire and Meadow looked over at it too. In the very heart of the fire, underneath the kettle, was a huge black egg. A Dragon's egg.

"Hagrid—what's _that?_" Harry asked.

"Ah," Hagrid said, fiddling nervously with his beard, "That's—er. . ."

"Where did you get it, Hagrid?" Ron said, crouching over the fire to get a closer look at the egg. "It must've cost you a fortune."

"Won it," Hagrid said. "Las' night. I was down in the village havin' a few drinks an' got into a game o' cards with a stranger. Think he was quite glad ter get rid of it, ter be honest."

"But what are you going to do when it's hatched?" Hermione asked, paling at the thought.

"Well, I've bin doin' some readin'," Hagrid said, pulling out a rather large book from under his cushion. "Got this outta the library—_Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit—_it's a bit outta dat, o'course, but it's all in here. Keep the egg in the fire, 'cause their mothers breathe on 'em, see, an' when it hatches, feed it on a bucket o'brandy mixed with chicken blood every half hour. An' see here—how ter recognize diff'rent eggs—what I got there's a Norwegian Ridgeback. They're rare, them."

He looked very pleased with himself, but Hermione looked angry, Ron looked bemused, Harry looked shocked, Shane looked terrified, and Meadow looked skeptical.

"Hagrid, you live in a _wooden house,"_ Hermione said, shaking her head.

But Hagrid wasn't listening. He was humming merrily as he stoked the fire.

-.-.-

And now the five had something else to worry about on top of each one of their plates. They all had Hagrid's illegal dragon, the Stone, and school work to worry about. Harry also had Quidditch practice. Shane had his potential werewolf problem. Hermione had exams constantly on her mind. Ron, really didn't have too much to worry about, unless you count him trying to find a way to define himself away from his brothers. And Meadow, well, Meadow still had her hunt for what Shane's illness was and who her father really was. She would continue to check on the family history book, but it still remained firmly shut. As if it knew Meadow was trying to use it for the information in there rather than just being curious.

The following week, school started up again and Meadow managed to write down that Shane had missed the middle of Easter break, the 15th through the 17th, with Thursday the 16th being the full moon.

"Wonder what it's like to have a peaceful life," Ron sighed one evening after they struggled through the extra homework that was piled on top of them. They were still sitting in the library feeling defeated, to clarify, the three boys were feeling defeated. As Hermione was now enforcing a study schedule for them too.

"Probably something boring," Meadow replied as she packed up her things. She skived off Daphne and Theodore for the night so she could see if there was any word on the dragon. There wasn't any so far.

The next morning, however, Hedwig brought Harry a note from Hagrid: _It's hatching, _was written in Hagrid's tiny scrawl. Shane came and let Meadow know in a low whisper after pulling her away from Slytherin friends. Shortly after, Harry, Hermione, and Ron came over too; Ron and Hermione bickering about whether or not they should skip Herbology. Meadow raised her eyebrows at Shane, who rolled his eyes.

"They're always going on like that."

"Hermione, how many times in our lives are we going to see a dragon hatching?" Ron said sharply to her.

"We've got lessons, we'll get into trouble, and that's nothing what Hagrid's going to be in when someone finds out what he's doing—"

"Shut up," Harry whispered.

Meadow looked up to see Draco a few feet away and he had stopped dead in his tracks to listen. "You bloody idiots," Meadow snapped at Hermione and Ron. "How many times do you need to realize you can't just be screaming out information that needs to be secret?"

Hermione looked upset with herself and Ron looked livid for being called out by Meadow, though their relationship had improved, Meadow was sure Ron still didn't like her.

"Whatever," Ron said.

Meadow rolled her eyes. "I'll go to Hagrid's, it's not like I've got much of anything anyway. I could be working on homework, but it's fine," she snapped, in a bad mood for Ron's attitude. Though, it could be because she had astronomy the night before and didn't get much sleep. "I doubt anything will happen just yet, though."

"Here's a thought," Ron growled. "Why don't you run off and find out what Malfoy knows."

"Here's a thought," Meadow copied him. "Why don't you shut your damn mouth in public places?"

"Alright, that's enough," Shane said quietly, trying to defuse the rising tension between Meadow and Ron. "We've got to get to class."

Ron narrowed his eyes at Meadow before he stormed off. Hermione gave Meadow a disappointed look before she rushed after Ron. The two of them arguing filled the halls. "We'll see you later, Doe," Harry said quietly, "Though, it would be good to see what Malfoy knows."

Harry and Shane walked off after the two towards the Greenhouses. "Ugh," Meadow groaned to herself and went after Draco. When she caught up to him, he was with his gang of friends.

Crabbe, Goyle, Blaise, Pansy, Millicent, and Tracey were all chatting excitedly about sabotaging something.

"Off to find some poor Hufflepuff to pick on?" Meadow sneered at the group.

"Wouldn't you like to know," Pansy replied with a smirk upon her face. It made her look even uglier than normal.

"I don't really care," Meadow responded. "But I do need to talk to your ring leader very quickly about potions."

Pansy scoffed, "Please. You just want to try and get our little plan out of him."

"Parkinson, I really don't care," Meadow replied, narrowing her eyes at the girl. Thankful she hadn't had any sort of interaction with her since before Winter Break, now that was a miracle. She turned to Draco and searched his grey eyes. "Draco, can I just have a quick word with you."

"Oh alright," he swaggered over to her and she pulled him down the corridor away from the earshot of the others. "What gives?"

Meadow shrugged, "Just wanted to know how much you heard."

"I heard more than enough," Draco replied and towered over her, a smirk playing on his lips. "But I won't go to a teacher."

Meadow blinked at him, shocked at the honesty in his voice. "I'm sorry?"

"You heard right," he said. "I'm not going to a teacher."

"Why?" she asked, suspicious of his intentions.

"It wouldn't be as fun getting just that oaf in trouble. I figure, I might as well wait for Weaselbee to get bit or burned. Those Gryffindors you call your friends are about four braincells all combined when they're not with you. Despite that Mudblood Granger being an insufferable know-it-all."

"Don't call her that," Meadow said softly, she never had been on the receiving side of Draco's wrath before.

"I always knew you were too soft to be a true Slytherin," Draco sneered at her. "Of course, you went and made friends with the wrong sort on the train. Or did you think I'd forget that you made a fool of me, someone you've known since we were babies, in front of kids you had just met? I haven't forgot." He scoffed at her; his eyes hard as he locked eyes with her.

"I never thought you'd forget that, Draco," Meadow said softly. The fire that was once in her turned to ash. "I just didn't think you'd be so close-minded," she looked at him. "I know you're not your father, Draco. This isn't you. . . Did you think I'd forget about all the talks we used to have in your bedroom while our parents were planning who knows what with other Death Eaters that escaped Azkaban?"

"You didn't even know your father was one until this year," Draco said and after a second, his eyes widened.

Meadow let out a short nose exhale. There it was, it was finally confirmed. Severus Snape was a Death Eater. He had a dark past, made mistakes, and probably was continuing to make them by going after the stone. "So, you finally let your guard down," Meadow said softly, though tears rose to her eyes. "Finally let it slip that my dad's just as bad as yours."

"Doe," Draco said quietly and his eyes immediately dropped the harsh look upon his face. "I shouldn't have said that."

Meadow's eyes dropped down to her feet. "You just confirmed something I always suspected. Do you know why he's not in Azkaban with the rest of—them?"

"No," Draco replied. "I know he left you in the dark about those meetings, but my parents didn't. And I wasn't allowed to tell you. They forbid me to tell you about the meetings and about your dad." He put a hand on her shoulder and Meadow pulled away.

She didn't feel like she had anything left to say. "Just, can you just not say anything about the dragon?" Meadow finally said.

"For now," Draco replied. "You should leave them to fend for themselves. You're just sheltering them from the real world."

But Meadow turned on her heel, her blonde, curly hair whipping around behind her as she marched down the grounds and to Hagrid's hut. At least with one mystery solved, Meadow could scratch that off her list of things she didn't need to figure out. But it was a truth that drained all the fire she once had in her. She had no idea if her father would be after the stone or not anymore.

-.-.-

**The poor baby! Aw, Meadow. What a life she has. **


	19. 19 Unexpected Happenings

Miracle

_But Meadow turned on her heel, her blonde, curly hair whipping around behind her as she marched down the grounds and to Hagrid's hut. At least with one mystery solved, Meadow could scratch that off her list of things she didn't need to figure out. But it was a truth that drained all the fire she once had in her. She had no idea if her father would be after the stone or not anymore. _

Chapter 19: Unexpected Happenings

Before Meadow knew it, she stood in front of Hagrid's Hut knocking on the door. She couldn't remember how she got there, but she knew she walked from the point in the castle with Draco to Hagrid. It was quite interesting to not remember the journey from one point to the next, though it hadn't been the first time nor would it be the last.

"Who is it?" Hagrid's voice called from behind the door.

"It's me, Hagrid," Meadow said softly. "It's Meadow."

A large, hairy face with kind black eyes peered through the small crack in the door Hagrid made. "Meadow! Yer were quiet. C'mon in," Hagrid stepped to the side and eyed the outdoors.

"They're in Herbology right now," Meadow said, noticing Hagrid's hesitation to shut the door. "I think they'll come down later, I just have a break right now."

Hagrid shut the door, and despite the note saying the dragon was hatching, it was still stifling hot inside the cabin. Immediately, Meadow took off her robe and loosened her tie. The egg was no longer in the fire, but went into the kettle sitting over the fire. Meadow was still hot with the fire blazing, and took off the sweater vest she had on and tossed it on the robe that was draped behind her chair at the table.

Meadow took an enormous sigh and laid her head on her arms, looking out at nothing in particular.

"Yer look down," Hagrid said to her as he sat across from Meadow.

"Yeah," Meadow said tenderly, "I just—I found out something that I didn't want to know. Except I did want to know."

"Sounds compl'cated," Hagrid replied and Meadow looked up. His black eyes, though the same in color to her father's, were completely different; they were kind and filled with concern. Those black eyes were everything Meadow had wanted to see in her father's, but something that never would happen.

"A bit. . . Hey, Hagrid?" Meadow asked, unsure if she wanted to confide in the Game Keeper, but she pushed forward, despite Hagrid's flaws, he was someone who genuinely cared for others. "Have you ever heard something you always wanted to know, but when it was confirmed, your heart sank and you wished you never knew?"

"O'course," Hagrid replied, looking curiously down at Meadow. "Can't think o' a time where that didn't happen for a secret. Yer alright?"

Meadow sighed again and leaned back in her chair, staring up at the ceiling. "I don't know. . . I found something out about my father—you know, Professor Snape. And I always suspected it, but it was never confirmed. And now. . . Now I just don't know—I just don't know. . ." She said, unsure of how to finish that sentence. She didn't know if she wanted to claim him as her father? She didn't know if she still wanted to be his daughter? She didn't know if he was forced to be one? What if he joined willingly?

Was she even ready for this type of stuff to think about? What happened to being a carefree kid? Did being in Slytherin make Meadow realize that the world is not all light? Why her?

"Ah, well, Severus was a bit o' a troubled student," Hagrid said gently. "He had a rough time at school."

"It's not just that, Hagrid," Meadow said, a frown playing on her lips as she thought about her father. "I just don't understand. . . I don't understand what anyone would see in him after being a—after pledging allegiance to—I mean, what did my mother ever see in him?"

"Sadie Beckard?" Hagrid asked and Meadow nodded. "O' course, Sadie saw ter best in him. She was funny like that. Good heart. Kind soul. Saw ter best in everyone."

Meadow let out a small laugh, "She did?"

"O'course!" Hagrid cried. "If yer talkin' 'bout what I think yer are, Sadie helped Severus turn—yeh just can't go talkin' about what I'm tellin' yeh."

"Turn?" Meadow asked and she perked up a bit. "What do you mean?"

"Yer mother, always seein' ter best in people—she brought ter best out of people too," Hagrid replied and his eyes stared into hers. "Meadow, yer mother twas a great witch. She helped yer father see that You-Know-Who wasn't someone to follow. He turned spy."

"I don't believe you," Meadow shook her head. "There's no way, after everything, that he turned spy against someone he pledged too and has a mark from for the rest of his life."

"Ah, well, that's fer yeh to believe," Hagrid replied gently. He meant well, and Meadow did want to believe him, but after being shoved off to Draco's room as a kid when her father and his parents would hold meetings. . . well, it just didn't make much sense to Meadow on why he'd keep up the spy image after You-Know-Who had vanished.

The egg started to rattle and Hagrid went to check on it. He put on some heavy oven mitts, grabbed the egg, and rushed over to the table. There was one deep crack in the egg, "Supposed ter keep it on heat 'til it cracks," he said.

Meadow looked around the cabin, noticing the curtains were slightly open. She got up and closed them tighter, fighting with one curtain to lay completely shut—but it wouldn't. Meadow gave up as she heard scratches from inside the egg. Sitting back over at the table, she studied the black egg more. Fang must have sensed Meadow's melancholy spirits as he came and plopped his heavy head on her lap.

"How'd you get it again?" Meadow asked Hagrid as she busied her hands with Fang's ears.

"Playin' a game o' cards with a stranger," Hagrid said. "Seemed glad ter get rid of it."

"Hm. . ." Meadow said, looking over the deep crack.

"Hope ter Gryffindors get here soon," Hagrid eyed the egg.

"I'm sure they will, Hagrid," Meadow said, though she wasn't sure who was going to win the argument between Ron and Hermione. Though, she did think Hermione would eventually give in to see a dragon hatch, Ron was right on that part—when else would they watch one?

"Hagrid? Do you know why anyone would follow You-Know-Who?" Meadow asked and Hagrid's face became very serious. There was a pregnant pause between the game keeper and student, only allowing for the dragon's scratching and thumping against the shell of the egg to be crystal clear.

"Yer shouldn't be metaling in that sort o' stuff," Hagrid said sharply.

"I'm not! I'm just trying to understand why. . ." Meadow pleaded, her eyes asking for Hagrid to explain more.

He shook his large head. "Some witches an' wizards were born inter it—grew up with generations o' purebloods in their families. Some had a bad home life. Others became corrupt by bein' in Slytherin." Hagrid looked sadly down at her. "Not often do Slytherin have a witch or wizard not come out bad."

Meadow frowned, "Do you think I'll end up like them?"

"Only yer got the 'bility ter change that," Hagrid said. Another large crack occurred in the egg and more scuffling and scratching came from inside of it.

Despite Hagrid's inability to comfort Meadow properly, she held onto that last piece of advice for years to come. Suddenly, Meadow caught something out of the corner of her eye.

"They're here," She said and Hagrid jumped up. Normally, Fang would be off booming at the door, as he adored Harry, but today, he stayed right by Meadow, leaning into her hands more. "Hagrid? Please don't mention anything to them about this. . . They wouldn't understand."

Meadow could tell that Hagrid had given her a sad smile under his thick beard and he nodded. "As long as yeh don't go talkin' 'bout Severus bin a spy," he replied and Meadow nodded, too. A mutual agreement between the two which Meadow would fully appreciate later.

"It's nearly out," Hagrid told the four Gryffindors as he rushed them inside.

They drew their chairs up to the table and watched with bated breath. Though the dragon hadn't been doing much before the Gryffindors showed up, abruptly there was a scraping noise and the egg bolted open, scatting egg shell pieces everywhere along the table. The dragon, however, was a small, black scales weren't defined yet and looked like soggy leather. Its bones were showing immensely, as it was so small and skinny yet the wings were huge compared to the rest of its body and head. It had a long snout with wide nostrils, the stubs of horns upon its head and all down its spine. It had bulging, orange eyes.

The dragon sneezed, shooting out a few sparks out of its snout and peered up at the group. Its orange eyes focused upon Hagrid. "Isn't he _beautiful?_" Hagrid murmured and reached out a hand to stroke the dragon's head. It snapped at his fingers, showing pointed fangs.

"Bless him, look, he knows his mommy!" Hagrid gazed proudly down at the dragon.

"Hagrid," Hermione said, "how fast do Norwegian Ridgebacks grow, exactly?"

Hagrid was about to answer when the color suddenly drained from his face—he leapt to his feet and ran to the window, his feet pounding against the wood floor with large bangs.

"What's the matter?" Harry asked, alarmed.

"Someone was lookin' through the gap in the curtains—it's a kid—he's runnin' back up ter the school."

The group jumped up, each running for a window or the door and looked up towards the castle. There was no mistaking who it was.

Draco had seen the dragon.

-.-.-

"We told you to talk to him!" Ron rounded on Meadow.

"I did!" she snapped. "He was probably just curious about what a baby dragon looks like!"

"That's a load of dragon dung!" Ron laughed. "He's just going to get us in trouble. You had one thing to do and you couldn't even do that!"

"At least I wasn't the one who dropped the bomb about Hagrid's dragon to Draco!" Meadow roared. "That was you and Hermione! Who here is really at fault for Draco finding out?" She didn't even pause as she pushed forward, "YOU are! Because you don't know how to keep your bloody gob shut!"

"That's rich coming from you!" Ron blasted back at her. "You're in his house! No wonder you're sticking up for him!"

"I'm not sticking up for anyone—"

"Enough o' yer fightin'!" Hagrid bellowed. "Yer friends."

Meadow and Ron both fell silent, ashamed of being scolded. Though they were both thinking the same thing: They were _not _friends with each other. They had never been friends.

All of the hard work they did to make their friendship grow was diminished in a second. It didn't matter that Ron had saved Meadow from the troll. It didn't matter that Meadow would stick up for the Gryffindors time and time again to her own house. Whether or not Meadow was friends with Ron didn't matter anymore, especially if he was never going to trust her. Being a Slytherin never felt so good and bad at the same time.

"Is there anything you can do, Doe?" Shane whispered to her.

"I already talked to him," Meadow replied. "He said he wasn't going to tell a teacher."

"That's a load of dung if I ever heard it," Ron snarled.

"I didn't ask for _your opinion_!" Meadow snapped at him, narrowing her black eyes at Ron. "He said he wasn't going to go to a teacher and I believe him. You four don't know him like I do—"

She stopped herself short from saying _I've known him longer than any of you_. She really didn't need to confirm Ron's hatred of her even more. She wanted to keep the peace. Not that it mattered much given her own father's history, especially with Remus.

"_You two are either very smart, or very arrogant for not realizing what the other is," Meadow's father said, rolling his eyes at Meadow and Shane._

"_Now, now, Severus. It's a good thing our two realize the importance of keeping the Wizarding world a secret from the Muggle world," Remus said lightly, smiling at the two._

"_You mean to tell me—"_

"—_that we're _both _going to Hogwarts?" Shane finished Meadow's sentence._

"_Yes," Severus and Remus said together._

_Meadow shrieked in excitement and Shane's jaw dropped. "How long have you known?" Shane demanded, frowning at his own father._

_Remus chuckled, "Since you two first met. You see, Meadow's father and I were in the same year at Hogwarts as well."_

"_Were you two friends?" Meadow asked as she swung an arm around Shane's shoulder and pulled his cheek next to hers with a huge smile. _

_The two men exchanged a look between one another, Severus's eyebrow raised, looking down his large, hook nose at Remus, whom had an amused expression upon his face. "Not exactly," Remus responded gently. _

"_What were you then?" Meadow pushed, ignoring the warning from her father._

"_Meadow," he said harshly with a look upon his face that could strike someone dead if looks could kill. _

"_Just asking," Meadow put her hands up in defeat, "I want to make sure Shane and I stay friends."_

"_I'm sure things will all work out," Remus responded with a smile._

Shane nudged Meadow's shoulder with his hand, bringing her back to the present. "C'mon, let's go back to the castle, we can problem solve this together," Shane said quietly before shooting Ron a dirty look. "I'm sure if anyone can figure out our Malfoy problem, it'll be Meadow."

Ron scoffed and rolled his eyes. But Hagrid looked at her hopefully.

"Don't worry, Hagrid," Meadow said gently, "We'll figure it out."

When Meadow and Shane closed the door, Harry's muffled voice was scolding Ron, "Just because Doe's a Slytherin does not mean you can't trust her!" he was saying irritably. "She's right, she knows Malfoy better than anyone—if anyone can stop him, it's her!"

"That's if she even wants to stop him!" Ron thundered back.

"Of course, she does!" Harry challenged, "Whether you like it or not, Meadow has always been there for us! If you can't trust her that's on you!"

"C'mon," Shane said, grabbing Meadow's hand and leading her away from the cabin.

Harry and Ron's voices no longer reached their ears as she and Shane set off towards the castle, it had been a long time since Meadow remembered just the two of them together and she expressed so to Shane.

"Must have been the day of the train," He said thoughtfully. "Before Harry joined us in the compartment."

"It's been that long?" Meadow said wistfully. "I just remember when we used to play pranks on the Muggle teachers."

"You played pranks on them!" Shane laughed and pushed her teasingly. "I was an innocent bystander!"

"Don't play so innocent, S!" Meadow smirked, calling him the nickname she gave him so long ago. "You came up with some of the ideas!"

Shane laughed, "Blimey, I haven't heard you call me that since Muggle school either!"

As the two got closer to the castle Meadow wished morning break was longer. She missed her best friend, and despite finding an amazing group in the Gryffindor house for Shane to belong in, Meadow found herself missing the dynamic dual that she and Shane once had.

"There's a lot of things I miss from Muggle school," Meadow said quietly as she quickly squeezed Shane's hand before letting go.

"Me too," Shane said quietly. "The normalcy of it all, especially."

"Who would have known we would ever miss Muggle school," Meadow laughed.

Shane didn't respond, and a silence fell over the two, where the birds chirping and animal noises gained their attention.

"You know I'll do everything I can to hush Draco up," Meadow said finally, breaking the pause.

"I know. It'll be Ron we'll have to convince of that," Shane replied.

-.-.-

Over the next week, Draco's smirking face haunted Meadow. Knowing that the dragon was actually real and alive was different than just overhearing a conversation about a dragon. He now had something to hold over not only the Gryffindors' heads, but Meadow's and Hagrid's heads. Draco was unpleasant during potions, though, Meadow forced herself to keep her head down and work on the potion they were brewing now, the Herbicide Potion. The last potion the first years were to brew as a class before her father had them rebrew all the potions they learned this year by as much memory as possible.

This potion was the most difficult potion of the year, and her father expressed that he would be surprised for any of the students to get a perfect potion or even acceptable potion due to the difficulty level. Meadow knew better; any typical student would have a difficult time brewing this potion, Meadow, however, would have an easier time brewing it to be "acceptable" in normal standards. But in Potion's Master's daughter standards, it would have to be a perfect potion in order to receive passing marks.

Meadow had to snort at her father's warning once she looked at the ingredients and instructions. It wasn't that difficult at all. She got right to work, pulling most of the weight as she had to get on Draco's good side once more.

_The Herbicide Potion is a poisonous potion to kill or damage plants during contact. Ingredients include: Flobberworm mucus, Horklump Juice, Lionfish spines, and the standard ingredient. There are two parts to this potion-_

_Part One:_

_-Add four lionfish spines to mortar and crush into a rough powder._

_-Add two measurements of standard ingredient to the mortar. Mis into the spines, careful to keep the rough powder._

_-Add three measures of the mixture to the beginner potion in the cauldron._

_-Wave your wand counter-clockwise over the cauldron._

_-Leave to brew for up to sixty minutes or until a royal blue._

_Part Two:_

_-Add two measures of Horklump Juice to the cauldron_

_-Heat to a medium temperature (roughly three-hundred) for ten seconds_

_-Add two blobs of Flobberworm mucus after ten seconds of heat_

_-Stir four times clockwise and one time counter clockwise._

_-Remove heat._

_-Finish potion, which should be a toxic green in color, by tapping the cauldron lip with wand and using the Herbivicus Charm. _

_**Note: the herbivius charm is used to promote rapid growth in a plant, however, with the ingredients used in this potion, the charm takes the effect to increase the strength of the poison.**_

As she looked over her notes once more, she glanced at the potion she and Draco completed, it was toxic green in color and thick in consistency, as the flobberworm mucus was a common thickener for potions. She raised her hand for her father to come cast the charm on it to complete it. Although he was teaching the charms the class used to finish the potions, he didn't want them to blow up the potions or classroom until he fully trusted the students to cast the finishing charms.

Professor Snape came over, cast the charm and examined the potion carefully, analyzing ever bit of it. Slowly, he took a small, glass ladle and summoned a plant into his hand. He used the potion on the plant's soil and it immediately wilted once the liquid had been soaked up. The plant yellowed, before brown, and then it shriveled up. Dead. "I expect the effects to be faster," he said slowly, as if that was the only thing that came to mind for him to lecture her about.

"Now, _class_—watch this:" he summoned another baby plant, dipped the ladle into the potion again and pulled out a bit of the potion. "_This_ is what your potion should look like," he held the glass ladle up to show the toxic green potion. "And _this_ is what it should do, but in _half the time_—"

He dumped the potion onto the soil, where it slowly sunk through the first layer and the plant wilted suddenly. The steam turned yellow and then the leaves. Brown crawled up from the roots to the tips of the leaves after. And then finally—it shriveled, becoming less than a quarter of the size it once was.

If Meadow was being completely honest, she was very proud of her work, nevertheless of the critique Severus handed her for the potion acting too slow—if she showed Professor Sprout the potion, Meadow was sure the Herbology teacher would be mighty pleased with the outcome.

That weekend Meadow found herself back at Hagrid's hut, moping about as the reality of her father's past started to kick in. _If only she could read that book, _Meadow thought to herself as she watched Hagrid wrestle with the dragon for the fifth time in a half hour of her being there. It had grown three times in length in just a week. Smoke kept furling out of its nostrils, and Hagrid hadn't been doing his gamekeeping duties because the dragon was keeping him so busy. Empty brandy bottles and chicken feathers were all over the floor, it was impossible not to kick a bottle whenever anyone moved. And Fang had been kicked out of the cabin, as Hagrid feared what would happen to his dog once the dragon got bigger. Fang already had his tail bandaged from the dragon biting it.

Harry had asked for Hagrid to set the dragon free, but since it was still a baby, the dragon would most likely die after a few days of being out in the forest.

"I've decided to call him Norbert," Hagrid said misty eyed, after Harry, Shane, Hermione, and Ron showed up.

Ron gave Meadow a horrible look before he sat as far away from her as possible. Clearly, the Gryffindor still had a rough time not blaming himself for the mishap with Draco. Meadow narrowed her eyes at him before looking at Norbert.

"He really knows me now, watch. Norbert! Norbert! Where's Mommy?" Hagrid called to the dragon, whom perked up and sprinted full force towards Hagrid.

"He's lost his marbles," Ron muttered as Norbert collided with Hagrid, knocking both down to the ground, causing the brandy bottles to break or scatter and chicken feathers to fly in the air.

"Hagrid," Harry said loudly, "give it two weeks and Norbert's going to be as long as your house. Malfoy could go to Dumbledore at any moment."

"I—I know I can't keep him forever, but I can't jus' dump him, I can't," Hagrid said mournfully as he bit his lip and looked up from the floor, where Norbert sneezed and set Hagrid's beard on fire.

As Hagrid patted the fire out of his beard, leaving singed ends of his hair, Meadow chewed on the inside of her lip. "Hey, Ron," she said suddenly. "Don't you have a brother who is a Dragon Keeper?"

"Charlie!" Harry said suddenly, snapping his fingers at Meadow. "We could send Norbert to him. Charlie can take care of him and then put him back in the wild!"

"Brilliant, Harry!" Ron said excitedly, ignoring Meadow. "How about it, Hagrid?"

Though it took some convincing, Hagrid eventually agreed that they could send an owl to Charlie to ask him.

-.-.-

Despite stress levels rising over the dragon, Meadow was able to relax a bit about Norbert because May 1st was arriving on Friday. The weekend edged by slowly, but Slytherin was playing Hufflepuff in the next Quidditch Match on the tenth. Meaning, Draco was preoccupied with tormenting Hufflepuff students, including the team in order to try and "throw them off their game."

On the twenty-ninth of April, Meadow and Ron found themselves scowling at each other in Hagrid's hut. The group of five were taking turns on helping Hagrid feed Norbert, whom since Monday was now eating dead rats by the crate. Meadow had brought her dragonhide gloves to help feed Norbert, since she did a bit of research of her own on Norwegian Ridgeback and found that the fangs Norbert had were venomous.

"Since yer both here, no fighting," Hagrid said immediately once Ron turned up under the invisibility cloak. "No stressin' Norbert out."

"Yes, Sir," Meadow said as she slipped her gloves on. Dead rats didn't gross Meadow out, but the thought of being bit and having a disgusting injury sure made Meadow weak in the knees.

Ron and Hagrid did not have gloves, and they were proved to be helpful when Ron was bit.

"OUCH!" He screamed and yanked his hand away from Norbert, who was looking at him with shock. Meadow flung a dead rat towards the corner of the cabin, causing Norbert to race after it without much thought about Ron after that as it gobbled down the rat, spraying blood across the wall and floor.

"What did yer do?" Hagrid roared at Ron. "Yer can't go an' scare him like that!"

"I didn't scare him!" Ron yelled back. "He bit my hand while I was feeding him a rat! I'm helping you!"

Hagrid shook his head and went over to Norbert with another rat. "Come here to Mommy," he said softly and Norbert hopped onto Hagrid's arm and shimmed up to his shoulders. Hagrid winced as Norbert's claws dug into his skin.

Meadow shook her head sadly at Hagrid, all he ever wanted was a dragon, and now it's proved to be quite the trouble. "Let me look at your hand," Meadow said as she took of her gloves.

"It's nothing," Ron said definingly.

"It is not," Meadow challenged. "Norbert has venomous fangs. The least I can do is look up some potions to steal from my father's storeroom so _you _don't go to the Hospital Wing."

Begrudgingly, Ron held out his hand for Meadow. It was bleeding bad and Meadow grabbed a handkerchief to dab at the wound. "Quit fighting me," she snapped at Ron. "I'm trying to get it clean."

"Well it bloody well hurts," Ron snarled.

"That may very well be, but it'll get worse if you don't let me clean it," Meadow said softly as she examined the bite wound.

As Meadow pondered over the wound, poking and prodding it, the only reaction so far was that it was still bleeding and Ron was moaning about it stinging. The grounds grew dark as Hagrid continued to feed Norbert and Meadow continued to try and stopper the bleeding from Ron's hand. It was just before midnight when there was a tap on Hagrid's window.

Hedwig was tapping at the glass. To save her from Norbert, whom had jumped from Hagrid's shoulders to hopping up and down on his back legs at the window, Meadow slipped out of the door with a dead rat in her hand, and untied the letter on her leg. "Best go up to the Gryffindor Common Room," Meadow said to Hedwig and gave her the rat. "Harry will want to see you. Thank you for finding me and Ron though."

Hedwig chirped happily and swallowed the rat whole as she sat on Meadow's arm. She hopped off and spread her wings, which Meadow once thought were large and grand, but compared to Norbert's wings, Hedwig seemed tiny.

"Ron, I think it's a response from Charlie," Meadow whispered as she quickly shut the door behind her to prevent Norbert from escaping into the grounds.

Ron perked up, "What does it say?" He lifted up his bloodied hand. "D'you mind? I don't think I'll be able to hold a quill for a week."

"_Dear Ron, How are you? Thanks for the letter—I'd be glad to take the Norwegian Ridgeback, but it won't be easy getting him here. I think the best thing will be to send him over with some friends of mine who are coming to visit me next week. Trouble is, they mustn't be seen carrying an illegal dragon. Could you get the Ridgeback up the tallest tower at midnight on Saturday? They can meet you there and take him away while it's still dark. Send me an answer as soon as possible. Love, Charlie,_" Meadow looked up from the note and saw Hagrid's teary face.

"Ah, Hagrid, Norbert's going to be much happier with his own kind—and Charlie knows how to take care of dragons! Norbert won't have to be locked up in your cabin anymore," She said, trying to sound cheery.

Hagrid shrank into the corner with Norbert, whom he clutched as tight as the dragon would let him and started to sing a lullaby to him. Meadow and Ron took it as their time to leave. Meadow bandaged up Ron's hand and the two slipped under the invisibility cloak to head towards the castle together.

"If anything changes tomorrow, let me know—I can get some potions from Snape's storeroom," Meadow whispered to Ron. "I don't know how you'd explain that to Madam Pomfrey without getting Hagrid in trouble."

"Let's just hope it doesn't do anything," Ron replied as he held his hand close to his body.

"I'm serious, Ron," Meadow said. "If anything changes, just let me know—I'm sure I can get something to help it instead of you suffering through it."

"Stop nagging," the redhead replied and Meadow huffed in annoyance.

She was only trying to help him after all. What good would it do for him to not let her help? Besides, it would be best to not involve anyone else in this matter. Once at the Grand Staircase, Meadow slipped out from under the invisibility cloak and listened to Ron's footsteps head up the stairs and Meadow hid herself in the shadows as she went downstairs.

-.-.-

Daphne was still awake and sitting back straight on her bed with her arms crossed. Meadow let out a breath, which turned into a groan.

"Don't you do that to me, Meadow," Daphne snipped at her. "Where have you been? You've been skiving off both me and Theodore the last few weeks and Draco's mentioned something about a dragon in Hagrid's hut?"

"Shh!" Meadow raced over to her friend, putting a hand over her mouth. Quickly, she pushed Daphne onto the bed further and drew the curtains around them both. "Yes," she said quietly. "Hagrid has a dragon—but we've got it all taken care of. Norbert will be going to Romania soon."

"Norbert?" Daphne blink. "That thing has a name?"

"Yes," Meadow hissed. "I was just helping Hagrid feed him. Just—just don't tell anyone, okay? Promise?"

Daphne shook her head in disbelief. "I cannot believe the amount of trouble you've gotten yourself into with those Gryffindors. First the troll, now a dragon? Are you out of your—_bloody—_mind?"

Now it was Meadow's turn to blink at Daphne, "Did you just swear?"

"Yes," Daphne said confidently. "Yes, I did, because you are ridiculous!"

"Shhh!" Meadow said peeking out of the curtain around the room. Hestia and Tracey were both fast asleep, their heavy breathing a dead giveaway that neither one was awake. "Seriously, if you don't want me in trouble, try not to shout it to the world."

"You best have a good reason for why you're messing with a dragon," Daphne said narrowing her eyes at Meadow.

"Okay, okay," Meadow said softly. "Hagrid's a good person—he just isn't the brightest when it comes to dangerous creatures. Ron's got a brother in Romania who agreed to take the dragon. Just a little more time before the dragon is gone."

"You are unbelievable," Daphne's voice was barely above a whisper.

"I know, but I swear, after the dragon is gone, it'll be back to practicing spells and charms with you and Theodore," Meadow said, pleading with her friend to believe her.

"Fine," Daphne said shortly. "Fine, but just so you know, Theo is not happy with you."

"When is he ever?" Meadow asked, sighing.

Daphne giggled. "I suppose never," she paused, "I've really been trying to work on him about your friendship with the Gryffindors. . ."

Meadow grabbed Daphne's hand, "I know you have. And I really do appreciate it. Truly, I don't know what I'd do if you weren't my best friend."

A smile broke across Daphne's face. "You mean it?"

"Of course, I mean it!" Meadow said shocked. "I don't tell you that you mean a lot to me just to shut you up! I actually mean it."

"Well, you're my best friend too," Daphne giggled again. "Theo is a lot, a lot of the time," she sighed. "I wish he weren't so judgmental. It's like he wants you to mess up."

"Is he really worth having around then?" Meadow asked quietly. "It sounds pretty toxic to have in your life. . ."

"Oh, Doe," Daphne patted Meadow's hand with the hand that Meadow wasn't holding. "If you only knew. . . Look, Theo and I, well, our families have known each other decades back. Always friends, our parents, and their parents, and their parents. I mean years of friendship has been between mine and Theodore's families. Even if we don't get along, it wouldn't matter. So, we put our differences aside, so at least whenever our families are together it makes it so Theo and I have a friend."

Meadow fell silent, she knew how that felt. Now more than ever, she had a hard time saying goodbye to Draco's friendship, as they've known each other for a long time.

Eventually Meadow nodded and Daphne gave her a quick hug before sending her off to her own bed. Thankful that Daphne understood the reason behind keeping a toxic friendship, despite it ruining other friendships.

-.-.-

By the next morning, Ron's bitten had had swollen to twice its usual size. Shane grabbed Meadow before she went in the Great Hall for breakfast and told her about it. Peeking into the Great Hall, Meadow saw that her father sat at his spot at the head table.

"C'mon, this is our chance," Meadow whispered to him and dragged him down to the dungeons.

Shane kept a look out as Meadow broke into her father's storeroom. Looking over the dozens of bottles, Meadow searched for the Deflating Draught. She grabbed a bottle as far into the shelf as she could and dashed out of the room. She slipped it into the pocket of her robe and quickly shut the door, casting _Colloportus_ on the door, before dashing out into the corridor where Shane was chewing on his fingernails.

"Here," she said quietly and handed the potion to him. "Have Ron take this, if it doesn't work, we'll have to try something else."

The potion seemed to work for the swelling, however, by the afternoon Ron's hand had turned a nasty shade of green and was still very painful. The Gryffindors had hunted Meadow down after her Herbology lesson and Harry pulled her aside from the Slytherins, who all sneered at Harry.

"Now what?" Meadow hissed at him; hating being singled out in front of the Slytherins.

"It's Ron, his hand is green," Harry whispered, glancing around as the last of the Slytherins headed out of the Herbology classroom.

"Well, Norbert's fangs are venomous," Meadow said obviously and then she smacked her forehead, "Merlin's beard. I forgot to get an antidote potion for him this morning."

"What does that mean?" Harry asked.

Meadow shook her head, "I can't believe I was so stupid to forget that—all he needs is The Antidote to Common Poisons. It's a simple potion, honestly. We've made it before in potions."

Harry blinked at her, "Whatever you said, sure."

Meadow rolled her eyes, "Do you ever pay attention to classes?" Harry shrugged. "Alright then, I doubt my father has a break right now. . . Worse comes to worse, I'll just say we wanted to practice it as you're having trouble remember what ingredients are in it—c'mon. We don't have much time to waste, now do we?"

-.-.-

An hour later, Meadow and Harry found themselves making The Antidote to Common Poisons under the watchful eyes of Professor Snape in his office. As unsuspectingly, Meadow and Harry walked into him grading papers.

"Oh, er—" Meadow stumbled. "Do you mind if we take this to Hagrid? If it's up to the correct standards, of course. He's just got some stings from his game keeping duties. . ." Meadow avoiding looking at her father's eyes.

Angrily, her father bottled up some of the potion, as it was as textbook as possible when following the instructions Meadow had wrote from the board those many months ago on the potion. "Here. And tell Hagrid I sent my sincerest condolences over his usual gamekeeper duties," he drawled, his voice the usual harsh sarcasm.

"Yes, sir," Meadow said and took the bottle. She and Harry bolted from the office as soon as everything was cleaned up. Rushing off to the Gryffindor common room, where Meadow ditched her Slytherin colors in an empty classroom right before the portrait.

However, when they got there, Hermione informed the two that Ron had gone to the hospital wing as they were taking too long.

"What an idiot!" Meadow snapped, "I told him he couldn't go to Madam Pomfrey!"

"He promised he'd say it was a dog bite," Hermione reassured the Slytherin.

"Madam Pomfrey knows better," Meadow snapped. "Now, before Draco hears Ron's in the Hospital Wing, we've got to give him this potion."

She raced off with Harry and Hermione trailing after her. Meadow couldn't believe her horrible luck. By the time the three had gotten to the Hospital Wing, Draco had already been there.

"It's not just my hand," Ron was saying, "although that feels like it's about to fall off. Malfoy told Madam Pomfrey he wanted to borrow one of my books so he could come and have a good laugh at me. He kept threatening to tell her what really bit me—I've told her it was a dog, but I don't think she believes me—I shouldn't have hit him at the Quidditch match, that's why he's doing this."

Meadow shook her head; she had been doing that a lot lately. "He's doing it just because he can," Meadow said and slipped Ron the Antidote. "Take this when Madam Pomfrey isn't watching you. It's a cure to common poisons—I don't know what else to do if this doesn't work. You might actually need the cure to uncommon poisons, but at least this will do a little good for your hand."

"It'll be all over at midnight on Saturday," Hermione added, trying to sooth Ron. On the contrary, he sat bolt upright and broke into a sweat.

"Midnight on Saturday! Oh no—oh no—I've just remembered—Charlie's letter was in that book Malfoy took, he's going to know we're getting rid of Norbert."

Before any of the three could respond, Madam Pomfrey came over and made them leave, saying Ron needed sleep to heal up.

As they walked out of the Hospital Wing the three bent their heads together.

"It's too late to change the plan now," Harry said. "We haven't got time to send Charlie another owl, and this could be our only change to get rid of Norbert. We'll have to risk it. And we _have_ got the invisibility cloak, Malfoy doesn't know about that."

-.-.-

Later that night, Meadow was able to get Ron's book back, though, it didn't do much good, as Draco was sporting a sinister smirk upon his face as he handed it back. He saw the letter. With all the stress of school and the dragon, Meadow barely had time to think about Shane's werewolf transformation research or her father's confirmed Death Eater status; though, it was a bit of a relief to not think about those things.

Two days later, Meadow's stomach was in knots as Saturday morning hit. She would have felt sorry for Hagrid, if it hadn't been such a worry about the chaos Norbert had created. Ron was still in the hospital wing, as the antidote for common potions was slowly working against the venom Norbert had injected. The day passed quickly. However, the plan for Harry and Shane to carry Norbert up to the tower went through the window as Shane had come down with a bad case of stomach pains causing him to throw up. And despite Hermione being easier to go with Harry, Meadow was the stronger one out of the two girls.

Therefore, when night fell upon them, Meadow met Harry in the shadows of the courtyard to Hagrid's hut.

"You took forever," Meadow whispered to him as he threw the invisibility cloak over her.

"Sorry, Peeves was in the entrance hall playing with a tennis ball," Harry replied, equally as quietly.

Hagrid had Norbert packed and ready in a large crate when the two arrived. "He's got lots o' rats an' some brandy fer the journey," Hagrid said in a muffled voice. "An' I've packed his teddy bear in case he gets lonely."

From inside the covered crate, came ripping noises that Meadow suspected to be Norbert ripping the teddy's head off.

"Bye-bye, Norbert!" Hagrid sobbed into a large handkerchief, "Mommy loves you! Mommy will never forget you!"

Meadow will never quite remember how she and Harry managed to get the crate back up to the castle. She constantly checked her watch as well, and midnight ticked closer and closer. Meadow had them take some shortcuts she knew about, despite this, the two were still breathing heavy and took a break from carrying the heavy dragon at the base of the tallest tower.

"Nearly there!" Harry panted. "Ready?"

Meadow nodded and the two picked Norbert up again, only to shrink into the shadows due to a sudden movement in front of them. They forgot about the invisibility cloak over them, as two dark outlines of people grappling with each other were only ten feet away from the two. A lamp flared and the scene unfolded before them.

Professor McGonagall had Draco by the ear, she was dressed in a tartan bathrobe and a hair net. "Detention!" She shouted at him. "And twenty points from Slytherin! Wandering around in the middle of the night, how _dare _you—"

"You don't understand, Professor! Harry Potter's coming—he's got a dragon!"

"What utter rubbish! How dare you tell such lies! Come on—I shall see Professor Snape about you, Malfoy!" Professor McGonagall's harsh voice snapped at him as she dragged him down the corridor.

The steep spiral staircase up to the top of the tower seemed the easiest thing in the world after that. Not until they'd stepped out into the cold night air did the two throw off the cloak, glad to be able to breathe properly again. Meadow did a sort of jig as relief washed over her.

"Malfoy's got detention!" Harry laughed. "I could sing."

"Don't," Meadow advised him, and the two sank together, chuckling about Draco as they watched Norbert's cage wiggle as he thrashed about.

About ten minutes later, four broomsticks came swooping down out of the darkness. Charlie's friends were a cheery lot. They showed Meadow and Harry the harness they'd rigged up, so they could suspect Norbert between them. Once Norbert was all buckled safely into the rig-out, Meadow and Harry shook hands with the four and thanked them all very much for the help of taking the dragon away.

And then, at last, Norbert was going. . . going. . . _gone._

Nothing could put a stopper to Meadow's happiness. Ron's hand was slowly getting better due to the potions Meadow slipped him, Norbert was gone, Draco had detention for metaling, and she and Harry were in the home stretch of getting away with it all until. . . at the end of the spiral staircase, a face loomed out from the darkness, a lamp just before it.

Filch. "Well, well, well," he whispered, the candle flame dancing across his horribly winkled face, "we _are _in trouble."

Meadow and Harry looked at each other, shocked. They'd left the invisibility cloak on top of the tower.

-.-.-


	20. 20 Emotional Call for Help

**Ahhh man, loves. I had a dream last night about this series. As I do, often. AND it was so good, so raw emotional that I will be changing up what I originally had planned in their fifth year to use my dream. I have it wrote down and everything—I mean, I'll have to actually write out the chapter when the time comes. But Merlin, you're either going to love me or hate me for what I'm gonna do with a certain character. I mean, maybe I shouldn't be telling you this now. Because I could change my mind by then. Honestly, I think it's too good to pass up. So, look out for that chapter for when it comes. **

Miracle

_Meadow and Harry looked at each other, shocked. They'd left the invisibility cloak on top of the tower. _

Chapter 20: Emotional Call for Help

Filch took them down to Professor McGonagall's study on the first floor, where they sat and waited without saying a word to each other. Filch went off to fetch Professor Snape as well, considering Meadow was a Slytherin. Harry's eyes darted all around the office, as if he was hoping to find some sort of excuse to why they were out of bed so late last night and why Draco was correct in the fact that Harry was going to be in the corridor that night. Meadow, however, didn't even want to think about the load of trouble they'd be in. Her especially since her father was always hard on her.

How could they have been so stupid to forget the cloak? There was no excuse that could explain why she and Harry were out of bed and creeping around the school in the dead of night, let alone being up in the tallest astronomy tower, which was out-of-bounds except for classes. Add Norbert and the invisibility cloak, and they might as well be packing their bags already. They were cornered.

When Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape appeared, both looked livid and a terrified Neville was behind them. And behind Neville, Hermione trailed with tears in her eyes.

"Harry!" Neville burst out, the moment he saw the other two. "I was trying to find you to warn you, I heard Malfoy saying he was going to catch you, he said you had a drag—"

Harry was shaking his head so violently to shut Neville up, but Professors McGonagall and Snape had seen. McGonagall looked more likely to breathe fire than Norbert as she towered over the three of them.

"I would never have believed it of any of you. Mr. Filch says you were up in the astronomy tower. It's one o'clock in the morning," she seethed. "_Explain yourselves."_

"We're sorry, Professor," Meadow said quietly, though that was all she managed to say before both Professors McGonagall and Snape's eyes were on her. Meadow went red with embarrassment and fell silent.

The Head of Gryffindor looked at the Head of Slytherin before she spoke angrily. "We think We've got a good idea of what's been going on. It doesn't take a genius to work it out. You fed Draco Malfoy some cock-and-bull story about a dragon, trying to get him out of bed and into trouble. I've already caught him. I suppose you think it's funny that Longbottom here heard the story and believed it, too?"

"No—" Meadow stammered, "That's not what— We didn't—"

"You didn't _what_, Miss Snape?" Professor McGonagall snapped at her. "I'm personally disgusted. Five students out of bed in one night! I've never heard of such a thing before! You, Miss Snape, I thought you had more sense. And for you, Mr. Potter, I thought Gryffindor meant more to you than this. Miss Granger, I would have thought you learned your lesson for going after things that shouldn't be gone after! Snape, Potter, and Longbottom, all three of you will receive detention—yes, you too, Mr. Longbottom, _nothing _gives you the right to walk around school at night, especially these days, it's very dangerous—and fifty points will be taken from Gryffindor."

"_Fifty?" _Harry gasped—Gryffindor would lose the lead, the lead he'd won for the house cup during the last Gryffindor Quidditch match. But as Harry was appalled over house points, Meadow was thinking about what Professor McGonagall had just said.

"_. . . nothing gives you the right to walk around school at night, especially these days, it's very dangerous. . ."_ What did she mean by that? Meadow questioned herself.

"Fifty points _each,_" Professor McGonagall said, breathing heavily through her long, pointed nose. "Professor Snape and I discussed this on our way to you two, when we stumbled across Longbottom. Now despite Mr. Malfoy already been dealt with, Miss Snape, you have lost fifty points as well—since you believe it is funny to lead your own house into believing lies."

Meadow's eyes went down to the ground.

"Professor—please—you _can't_—"

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do, Potter. Now get back to bed, all of you. Potter, Longbottom, I've never been more ashamed of Gryffindor students," Professor McGonagall snapped at them. "Snape, stay. Your Head of House wants to speak to you."

"Professor," Hermione's voice was strained as she was holding back tears, she had her hand up as if this was a class. "Does that fifty points include me as well?"

"Twenty points will be taken from you, Miss Granger," Professor McGonagall said harshly. "For your inability to get a teacher about Mr. Potter's and Mr. Longbottom's inability to stay in their common room. I am tempted to give you a detention as well, but I will inform you in the morning. Now _go to your beds_."

Meadow watched jealously as the three Gryffindors headed out of the study and back to their common room, where Meadow was sure they'd crawl into bed and hope nobody would see them. Professor McGonagall sat down in her chair, narrowed eyed at Meadow as her father stepped forward.

"I've never been more embarrassed of my own house," He said slowly. "I never expected this sort of behavior from you, of _all_ students, Snape. Professor McGonagall is correct, this is disgusting behavior. Now, I've already talked with Mr. Malfoy about being out of bed and since Professor McGonagall has been so kind to lecture you about being out of bed. I will say only one thing. You are a disappointment to Slytherin house right now and you best be on your best behavior in the weeks to come. If I find out any information about you metaling around or spreading lies about _dragons_, I will have you in detention every night until the end of your seventh year here. _Dismissed._"

Meadow's eyes were lowered on the ground and she quickly hurried out of the room and into the dungeons. Seventy points lost for Slytherin. A hundred and twenty points lost for Gryffindor. Meadow checked the house hourglasses of sand. Somehow, Slytherin had managed to hold onto second place with 387 points, dropping down from 457 points with a 44-point lead over Ravenclaw previously. And now, Ravenclaw was in first at 413 points. Hufflepuff in third with 352 points. Gryffindor had dropped from first place with 462 points down to fourth place with 342 points.

Meadow couldn't believe it. She lost fifty points all in one shot. And all in one night, with Draco being a nosy git, seventy. At least it wasn't a hundred and twenty points like the Gryffindors. Harsh consequences for trying to do the right thing and get a baby dragon to a safe environment. But how was she to bring up the fact that she and Harry were doing the right thing by Norbert? He was gone, and it was best to not get Hagrid into trouble.

Meadow curled up in her bed, thankful that Draco wasn't in the common room to scream at her. Though, Meadow wasn't sure if Draco even knew she was also with Harry smuggling away the dragon. Meadow couldn't sleep, she was dreading dawn. What will the rest of Slytherin think once they found out how many points she lost for the house?

-.-.-

Meadow couldn't have been more right about her dread. At first, Slytherin students thought it was a prank by the Weasley twins, but once they noticed that Gryffindor, too, had suffered the loss of a house points. There was only anger at whoever lost the points. Thankfully, Draco had managed to stay quiet about it. But that afternoon, the whole school was buzzing with what happened last night.

Since Meadow was a Professor's daughter, she went from being one of the more respected students to the most hated. By none other than her own house. Slytherin was pissed at both Meadow and Draco for being out of bed last night. However, once it came to the light that Draco was also a person who took away points, he viciously threw Meadow into the Black Lake coming clean that he only lost twenty of those points and Meadow lost _fifty._ And so, having it in the air that Meadow lost thirty more points than Draco, she was the most in trouble with her house.

On the other hand, Gryffindor was livid over the one-hundred-and-twenty points they lost, as they had now trailed in last place; any chances of having the House Cup awarded to them had been diminished. Harry was having the most difficult time with it, as he used to be admired and popular, everyone no longer looked at him. People pointed at him and basically shouted insults at him from Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw. Opposed to the hate Meadow got from Slytherin, Harry was whistled and cheered at, "Thanks Potter! We owe you one!" Despite being behind Ravenclaw, most of the Slytherins weren't concerned over gaining the points back—the last Slytherin Quidditch Match would be against Hufflepuff, which seemed to be the weakest house of Hogwarts in Meadow's eyes. They weren't good at gaining house points and they weren't good at Quidditch. Hufflepuffs were the friendliest house of them all, being loyal and hard-working. Just didn't have the combined competitive drive like the other three houses. Granted, Slytherin and Gryffindor were just aiming to defeat the other.

Meadow had insults yelled at her, but it was as she walked by her own house; Pansy Parkinson's nickname for her had caught fire and now everyone in her house was calling her a Snake. They were pissed at her because she lost the majority of the Slytherin points last night. And that she lost a huge lead over Ravenclaw. It wasn't really over the fact that she lost the points, it was how many points she lost, especially so close to the end of the year.

Even Terence wouldn't talk to Meadow, which she saw as a huge disappointment to herself. He was mad at her for losing the points for a comfortable lead over Ravenclaw, and now, during the Quidditch match over Hufflepuff the following weekend; the Slytherin Quidditch team would have to flatten Hufflepuff in order to gain back those house points to get a small lead over Ravenclaw. Miles and Adrian didn't even acknowledge Meadow anymore, turning their heads away from her whenever they'd see her in the common room or corridors. Since those two were also on the Quidditch team, they must have been feeling the pressure of performing well.

Meadow had tears dance in her eyes about every hour. Between the insults, the disgusted looks, and the people she thought she could consider friends no longer speaking to her—it was a lot, especially since it was just a House Cup. But this would be the first year Slytherin would lose the Cup if those points weren't won back.

Meadow promised herself she would make back at least thirty points. It wasn't that terrible of a feat. Especially if Slytherin destroyed Hufflepuff at Quidditch, then Slytherin would take over the lead for the house cup, and if she got those additional points, it should be close, but Slytherin could still pull off the house cup. She just had to figure out how to win back those points. But she promised herself she wouldn't be going around sneaking and spying for the rest of the year. The guilt that tangled itself in her stomach gnawed at her every second of every hour for the next few days. With a horrible sniffle, Meadow realized she could go help her father with his teaching duties. Helping grade homework, cleaning jars and bottles, sweeping the floor, sorting out bad ingredients from good. . . well, the list went on for the list of things her father had to do to keep the potions classroom up and running.

Meadow gave herself a week to figure out something else to do to earn the points back before she went crawling to her father for help.

As that week dragged by, one of the times Meadow found herself with the Gryffindors between classes, Harry told her that he was being called "the Seeker" during Quidditch practice and offered to resign.

"_Resign?_" Wood thundered at him. "What good'll that do? How are we going to get any points back if we can't win at Quidditch?"

Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff alike were hating on Harry, they wanted to see Slytherin lose the house cup for the first year since the seventh years had started. Somehow, Ravenclaw had a difficult time celebrating the twenty-eight-point lead over Slytherin. As if they knew eventually, they'd lose it; but that wasn't Meadow concern at all, it wouldn't be her fault if Ravenclaw lost the lead.

Neville was suffering as well, though he wasn't as well known as Meadow or Harry, people still wouldn't speak to him. Both Hermione and Shane suffered from it all, though it was mostly psychological. Hermione stopped drawing attention to herself in class, keeping her head down and working in silence. Shane, who never really drew attention to himself, somehow made himself even smaller; at least he had stopped drawing attention to himself by no longer telling anyone off about Quirrell. It was like they both felt the consequences of that night because of two different reasons. Hermione because she wasn't as physically strong as Meadow or Shane. And Shane because he had made himself so sick with worry, he couldn't do it. He had really taken it hard when he found out about the points and detention.

Granted, it was probably for the best, as if it was one of those two, Gryffindor would have lost either one-hundred and fifty points or hundred and seventy points, depending on who would have replaced Meadow's spot with Norbert.

Meadow was happy exams weren't that far away. Theodore was irate with Meadow for losing what would have been a nice, comfortable lead over Ravenclaw. And Daphne, in order to keep the peace, tended to spend more time with Theodore over Meadow. Though, she did know the truth that Meadow was done metaling about. As Meadow had promised her the night Ron got bit that she'd be done sneaking around. And Meadow kept her word to Daphne. She was in the common room or her bed by eight o'clock every night once the early bell rang throughout the castle. First, second, and third years had to follow the eight o'clock bell whereas the fourth through seventh years were allowed to stay out of their respected common rooms until nine o'clock.

The nights Meadow wasn't with Daphne, she spent with the Gryffindors in an empty classroom or the library, studying for the end-of-term exams. In the second week of May, Meadow was still having a difficult time adjusting to her now isolated life. She couldn't even find it in herself to go to the Quidditch Match to watch Hufflepuff get trampled by Slytherin. Instead, the one-week mark had passed, when Meadow promised she'd win those thirty points back, she still hadn't found a way that didn't involve her fathers help. So, Meadow swallowed her pride and went to her father's office.

When she arrived that first Saturday, teary-eyed, biting her lip, and fumbling with her hands, her father gave her a look that asked _What are you doing here?_

"I—I was wondering," Meadow stuttered, "If I could gain some house points back by cleaning and organizing the storeroom."

Dad's eyes narrowed on her. "What makes you think I would help you?"

A tear dripped down Meadow's cheek and she wiped it away furiously. "I was hoping you'd consider this additional potions practice for my exams. . ."

"Meadow, you do not need additional potions practice," Dad said harshly. "You are by far more capable than most third years and fourth years in making potions."

It was a backwards compliment. Though Meadow took the words to heart, the tone of voice made her grow smaller. She sniffled, "I—I just—I wanted to try and make it up to the Slytherins. . ."

Dad sighed, even though he had a hardarse external casing, he still did care for his daughter. "Fine, but you can first make it up to me by brewing another Deflating Draught to replace the one you stole."

Meadow's eyes widened, she didn't know how, but he knew about the potion she took from his storeroom. "And after that, I want you to work on counting every potion in the storeroom and marking down how many there is. Depending on how much you get done this weekend, I will award _up_ _to _seven points back."

And so, Meadow got straight to work. Her father waved his wand and upon the chalkboard in his office, a set of instructions for the Deflating Draught appeared. Meadow would have questioned his motives on allowing her to make such an advanced potion, but she thought better than to ask, fearing the repercussions. The Deflating Draught was by far, the most complicated potion Meadow had ever brewed before. Though, this wasn't a surprise as Meadow was sure to have read that it was taught in their fifth year at Hogwarts during their O.W.L. year.

Meadow stumbled through the potion, it was timed, everything had to go in at the exact moment it needed to go in. Beetle eyes, Bubotuber pus, Cowbane, Dragon Liver, Honeywater, Horklump juice, Infusion of Wormwood, Leeches, Salamander blood, Salt, and Standard Ingredient all went into this potion at various times and not in alphabetical order. Specific temperatures had to be met for a certain amount of time, the correct powder fineness, the right measurements, the accurate way to stir and how many times to stir—by the time Meadow had finished the potion, she was sweating and the inside of her lip was chewed raw. She was sure she made her mouth bleed at some point too.

When she was done, she took the heat off and called her father over to perform the charm. However, he looked at her from behind his desk with papers scattered everywhere and said he wasn't helping; if she wanted to use potions without permission, he was not going to help repair her mistakes. Frantically, Meadow searched for the charm in _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1 _book. It wasn't there. She was about in tears before her father waved his wand and the chalkboard now had the Deflating Charm instructions upon it. The wand movement, a backward and upside-down checkmark, and incantation _Deflatus_ was written in neat handwriting. If done correctly, the want light would be orange and the potion would then give off a pale orange steam, like the color of a cantaloupe.

Nervously, Meadow practiced the hand movement before she put down her want and started to sound out the incantation.

"DE-fla-TUS," Dad's voice said suddenly. "Not da-FLAY-tus."

"Right," Meadow whispered; her voice hoarse.

"You either need to finish that potion or get out of my office, you are wasting my time and your time," Meadow's eyes snapped to her fathers as he sat behind his desk scribbling away with red ink on someone's essay.

"_Deflatus,"_ Meadow said, gathering all her courage and strength to finish the potion correctly.

A second passed.

Another.

Time seemed to stop as Meadow watched the cauldron.

Finally, a cantaloupe steam rose from the potion and Meadow cried in relief. She put her hands to her face and just let her sobs overcome her. Without noticing, her father had gotten up from his desk and strode silently over to the table where Meadow had sunk into a chair and studied the potion.

"Well done, Flower," he said softly. "I stand corrected."

"I'm sorry?" Meadow questioned as she took a tissue from a nearby shelf and patted her eyes with it before blowing her nose.

"You are far more capable than most fifth years in potion making," he said firmly. "Before I said third- or fourth-year students. However, considering this potion is a fifth-year potion and without any lectures or essays, you managed to brew a Deflating Draught almost perfectly."

She looked at him, unsure of what to say, and just waited for him to continue.

"I believe, depending on your exam results. I may need to look into bumping you up a few years in potions. Clearly, you are not strained nor challenged in your current year," Dad said slowly, if this was supposed to be a good thing, his voice surely did not sound like it was. "You are supposed to be challenged in this class- are you?"

"Am I challenged in your potions class?" Meadow asked, clarifying what he was asking.

"Yes."

"Er—I don't really know how to answer that. . . I'm learning, but I mean. . . It's not difficult—" Meadow said, trying to figure out the words as she went. "This was the most difficult potion I've ever had. . . Until you moved Crabbe and Goyle from the table, I was not only working on mine and Draco's potion, but also telling them how to do it—"

"So clearly, no," Dad said firmly. "You are not challenged in my class."

"No, Sir," she said quietly, feeling like she was shrinking again.

"Tell me, what types of cauldrons are there?" Dad said very suddenly as he leaned forward, towering over Meadow, even with his hands on the table.

"I'm sorry?" Meadow asked, her eyes wide with confusion. He did not talk, only gave her a pointed look. "Right, the types of cauldrons. There are your common cauldrons: Pewter, a basic, beginner cauldron; Brass, intermediate level and often more preferred than Copper; Copper which has the fastest brewing speed out of those three. There's the collapsible cauldron, for easy travel, but not really great for brewing a lot of potions as the sides are thin. The Self-stirring cauldron, invented by Gaspard Shingleton sometime in the 1960s, its unknown of how potion quality is affected. The laughable cheese cauldron that Humphrey Belcher invented for cheese-based potions—no one uses it. Silver cauldrons, necessary for a Grand Wiggenweld Potion, but not used for much else due to the reactiveness of silver to certain ingredients. A solid gold cauldron, difficult to maintain and often just used for grand prizes, but most Potion Masters have one due to the excellent quality of potions brewed in the gold cauldron. Of course, in mainstream wizarding world, there's cauldron cakes and chocolate cauldrons; joke cauldrons such as the exploding cauldron and sloshing cauldron; and there are business and songs that refer to cauldrons as well. . ."

"What is the standard ingredient?"

"The standard ingredient is a mixture of dehydrated herbs. These herbs are all cut and dried and include: asphodel leaves, moly petals, sage leaves, and fennel leaves. All parts are equal and must be cut to the same size. Standard Ingredient is used for a numerous amount of potions and can either be used as is or ground into a powder of different levels of fineness."

"What potions did you use it in this year?"

"The Antidote to Common Poisons, the Forgetfulness Potion, and the Herbicide Potion. But there are other potions that require it."

He quizzed her more. Who were famous potioneers? What is the most common potion of all time? What is used for quidditch related injuries? Why is Unicorn Hair and Horns used but not Unicorn blood? What is Mandrake Root used for? Name a property of Moonstone. Why is flesh not used often in potions?

As she answered, he neither told her incorrect or correct. He did not say anything at all except for the next question. Until finally, he told her to start taking inventory of the storeroom and to put the Deflating Draught in bottles and put those away as well.

Meadow wasn't quite sure what happened that day, but she did know that her father had something planned up his sleeve for her. She didn't know if she wanted to know what. Especially since she still didn't want to spend time with him—she was just sucking it up to get house points. It worked; her father awarded seven points as promised.

-.-.-

That night, however, Meadow was with Daphne were in an empty classroom quizzing each other on Charms, both on knowledge and practicing the charms. Daphne told her all about Slytherin's win over Hufflepuff before they had jumped into the studying. They won 160-80. Meaning, Slytherin was awarded 80 points. Miles must have had an awful day. However, this did mean that Slytherin was now in first place for the house cup, at 474 points. Well, that would explain Ravenclaw's anger towards Harry and the other Gryffindors. Slytherin now had a huge lead over Ravenclaw, though the blue and bronze house were awarded some points in the last week, moving them from 413 points to 424 points.

"Alright, what is this one?" Meadow asked as she held up the drawn hand-movement of the charm up on a flashcard, getting Daphne back on track for Charms studying.

"That is the Mending Charm. Incantation is _Reparo._ It repairs broken objects to its original form," Daphne said as Meadow tore the flashcard into four parts. "It's incredibly useful spell is used daily by wizards and witches. It was invented sometime before 1755 by. . ." Daphne trailed off; she had a difficult time remembering the names of inventors. "Hang on, I'll come back to that—the mending charm is to only be used on inanimate objects, such as clocks, plant pots, paper—" she cast an obvious look at the torn flashcard, "—and not to be used on humans or animals, those still need healing charms."

Daphne grabbed her wand from the desk she placed it on, "_Reparo!"_ Her wand pointed at the flashcard, and instantly it was mended back together without a trace of being once ripped up.

"And who invented it?" Meadow prodded.

"Oh right," Daphne sighed. "Can I have some options?"

"You know, you might not get options on the exam," Meadow pointed out.

"Yes, yes, I know. But we've got time until then," Daphne responded. "A through D?" Her lips formed into a pout, her eyebrows pulled to be sad, and her eyes grew misty as Daphne tried to make herself look as pitiful as possible.

"You are ridiculous," Meadow said with a laugh. "Alright—Option A: Delfina Crimp. B: Orabella Nuttley. C: Levina Monkstanley. Or D: Eldon Elsrickle."

"Ugh!" Daphne complained. "You had to go all logical with it, didn't you? How am I supposed to know which ones to throw away?"

Meadow shrugged, "Well do you know _any _of them to have done something else?"

"What were my options again?" Daphne rested her head in her hands.

"A: Delfina Crimp. B: Orabella Nuttley. C: Levina Monkstanley. Or D: Eldon Elsrickle." Meadow repeated as she looked up from the flashcards she was shuffling.

"I don't know, A: Delfina Crimp."

"EEEHH," Meadow made a noise that resembled a buzzer. "Come on, you're down to three options. Just think. Who do you know of that is a controversial inventor?"

Daphne shook her head, "You know I'm terrible at names."

"Just think," Meadow persisted.

"Doe, I can't even remember what that bloody dragon's name was," Daphne let out a squeal of annoyance.

"Well good, you haven't been learning about Norbert all year," Meadow teased. "Your options are now: B: Orabella Nuttley. C: Levina Monkstanley. Or D: Eldon Elsrickle."

"I'd like to buy another hint," Daphne complained.

"What hint?"

"Elimination of two more options."

Meadow laughed, "No, that'll be giving you the answer! I'll give you a hint thought. Eldon Elsrickle is the controversial inventor."

"How is that a hint?" Daphne moaned as she looked up from her hands.

"Well, what is the controversial charm?" Meadow blinked at her friend.

"What's controversial is how you even manage to know all this stuff while still getting into trouble," Daphne chuckled and Meadow shot her a look. "Oh alright. Blimey, don't get your wand in a knot. The charm that has a controversial background is the Unlocking Charm; ergo, because Eldon Elsrickle may have learned it from an African sorcerer while Elsrickle visited the country back in the 17th century; after he got back from Africa, Elsrickle terrorized London by stealing from both Muggles and wizards. Now what are my options?"

"Good job," Meadow praised her friend. "Now you have options B: Orabella Nuttley, and C: Levina Monkstanley."

"B: Orabella Nuttley. Monkstanley invented two other charms, _Nox _and _Lumos,"_ Daphne replied dully.

"Nice!" Meadow congratulated. "Yes! Orabella Nuttley invented The Mending Charm."

Daphne jumped up and grabbed the stack of flashcards. "My turn to quiz you—I swear, if you keep throwing things at me, my brain will explode."

"Well, as long as you avoid throwing bits of your brain on me, I'd say I did my job," Meadow laughed. There was one good thing about studying with Daphne, Meadow was able to take her mind off the eighty points she lost for Slytherin.

"If my brain explodes, I'd hope some would land on you because of all the pain you've put me through!" Daphne cackled back as she shuffled through the cards. "What is this one?" She held up the visual image of a charm.

"The Locking Charm," Meadow replied as she studied the image, she pointed her wand at the open door, _"Colloportus._" The door slammed shut and there was a little click heard as the door sealed itself. "It prevents manual entry, though it can be easily unlocked with the key, a Muggle lock-picking set, or the Unlocking Charm. There isn't a known inventor or time frame of when this charm was invented as it has been around for centuries. However, it is said that the unlocking charm was created before this one, so roughly, colloportus was invented sometime in or after the 17th century. Not only does it lock the door, it also shuts an open door."

"Good," Daphne replied shortly. "Who is Delfina Crimp?"

"Is this an actual question or to satisfy your need to know who she is?" Meadow responded lazily.

"Both."

Meadow rolled her eyes. "Delfina Crimp invented the Severing Charm. She was a seamstress back in the 15th century and used the charm to make the task of cutting cloth and thread easier and faster for her shop to do better than others. She was very popular as she had beautiful creations of clothing due to their ability to make unattractive women prettier. She took on an apprentice, Snickerton, who was actually a rival Muggle tailor and wanted to learn her secrets and expose her as a witch. He eventually caught her and a group of law enforcement arrested her. She was taken into custody, though Snickerton could not find her wand, and therefore the men started to not believe him. Eventually, Crimp asked to scratch her chin, and disgustingly enough the wart on her face was actually her wand. She grabbed a bag of gold and Disapparated. She was never seen in London again, however, it is said that Snickerton had been cursed due to any piece of clothing he tried to make would end up in ribbons—no matter what precautions he took. According to legend, he died insane, believing a giant pair of invisible scissors followed him everywhere," Meadow replied as she watched Daphne find the notecard on Crimp to verify the information.

"The reason why Crimp invented the severing charm was to replace older spells or charms that burned or shredded whatever was being attempted to cut," Meadow finished off, thankful she did actually pay attention and take notes in class. That and the story of Crimp was hilarious, making it easy for Meadow to remember the tale. She looked around the room and found an old cloth that was covering a few chairs from the dust. "_Diffindo!"_ Meadow said, making the hand movement and pointing her wand at the cloth.

It easily sliced in the middle.

"How in Merlin's beard do you remember all of that?" Daphne questioned.

Meadow shrugged again. "Eventually we won't need to know it, but it would be interesting to throw random facts upon Granger during our O.W.L.s." She turned to the cloth "_Reparo,"_ and with that it was put back together.

"Oh please, like she would ever forget anything," Daphne laughed. "She may be a Muggleborn, but she's giving a lot of us wizarding families a run for our money."

"That is because all of this is new and exciting to her," Meadow pointed out. "Growing up as a Muggle and realizing that magic is _actually_ real—I mean, who in their right minds wouldn't want to learn about it? We grew up knowing that our lives would be different from Muggles'. So, it's not all_ that_ fascinating to us."

"On the contrary, I believe this stuff is very fascinating. We can finally start doing spells and learning what our parents know," Daphne contradicted.

"Right, so that's why you have such an easy time learning the inventors' names," Meadow snorted.

"I just have a hard time with names!" Daphne cried.

Meadow laughed and Daphne joined in shortly after.

"Why do you know all of this stuff?" The platinum blonde said after getting control of her giggles.

"It's not too hard to remember. . ." Meadow replied. "I mean, I know the teachers are piling a bunch of work on us, but really all we've learned are the basics of wizardly. Which, I snuck around the library loads of times at home and read about this sort of stuff. Besides, growing up as a Professor's daughter, my summers with my dad home weren't all fun and games. He had drilled me knowing this stuff from a young age."

"What about your Mom? She didn't teach you this stuff while Snape was at Hogwarts?" Daphne asked.

"No," Meadow replied. "She, ah, she sent me to Muggle school so I'd learn the basics there and how to keep the wizarding world a secret."

Daphne's face curled into disgust, "You went to Muggle school?"

"Yeah," Meadow frowned. "I thought you knew that—that's how Shane and I met."

"I didn't know that," Daphne replied. "But I'd keep that quiet."

Meadow waved her hands around, slightly insulted, "I have so far, haven't I? It's May now and you're just finding out."

Daphne snorted, "I suppose that's true." She held up another card. "How about this one?"

And the two drove back into quizzing each other all about charms.

-.-.-

A week before exams were due to start, Harry had left the library to bring his things back to the Gryffindor Tower before Quidditch practice. Only ten minutes later he had rushed back in while Hermione was quizzing Ron on Astronomy and Meadow was explaining the differences of Wormwood and Infusion of Wormwood to Shane.

"Harry?" Meadow question as he got to the table the four were at.

"I just overheard Quirrell in an empty classroom," Harry whispered. "He was whimpering and said 'No—no—not again, please— All right—all right—' after that Quirrell left the classroom. . . but I didn't stick around long enough to see who left it after."

"That's good of you, Harry," Meadow said quietly.

"Snape's done it, then!" Ron said, slapping his quill down. "If Quirrell's told him how to break his Anti-Dark Force spell—"

"There's still Fluffy, though," Hermione said gently.

"Maybe Snape's found out how to get past him without asking Hagrid," Ron said, looking up at the thousands of books surrounding them. "I bet there's a book somewhere in here telling you how to get past a giant three-headed dog. So, what do we do, Harry?"

There was a sparkle of adventure kindling again in Ron's eyes, but Hermione answered before anyone else could.

"Go to Dumbledore. That's what we should have done ages ago. If we try anything ourselves, we'll be thrown out for sure."

"But we've got _no proof!" _Harry exclaimed angrily.

"And you've got the wrong suspect," Meadow said very quietly.

"You don't know that," Ron said to her.

"And you don't know if Snape's actually behind it or not," Meadow responded.

"Both of you shut it," Harry snapped. "Quirrell's too scared to back us up anyway. Even if Snape is behind it, or whoever is trying to steal the stone, say it's Snape for the sake of a logical argument. All he have to say is that he doesn't know how the troll got in at Halloween and that he was nowhere near the third floor that night—who do you think they'll believe? Him or us? It's not exactly a secret that we hate him and he hates us. Dumbledore'll think we made it all up to get Snape sacked—sorry, Doe—Filch wouldn't help us if his life depended on it, he's too friendly with Snape, and the more students get thrown out, the better, he'll think. And don't forget, we're not supposed to know about the Stone or Fluffy. That'll take a lot of explaining."

Hermione and Shane were convinced, Ron didn't, and despite Meadow not agreeing with everything Harry said, she too knew it was best not to intervene or go to Dumbledore about the Stone.

"If we just do a bit of poking around—" Ron started.

"No," Harry said flatly, "we've done enough poking around. You weren't the one there when McGonagall about took our heads off. You haven't had anyone insulting you or ignoring you—you don't understand what this would do to me and Doe. If we get caught again doing something we shouldn't be doing, we better as well say our goodbyes now."

Ron fell silent, he had forgotten about the dragon incident.

"Look, I know you all are set on Snape being the bad guy," Meadow started and held up her hand to quiet the group from jumping down her throat about it. "I just want you all to think about who else could be a suspect here."

"Literally no one," Ron said shortly. "Not McGonagall. Not Sprout. Not Flitwick. Not Quirrell. And for obvious reasons, not Dumbledore or Hagrid."

"Hold your thought on Quirrell," Meadow said. "And bloody hell—let me talk right now," she narrowed her eyes at Ron as he opened his mouth to retort. "Have we ever thought of if Quirrell is trying to steal it? I talked with some of the upperclassmen, when Quirrell taught Muggle Studies two years ago—before he went on a sabbatical last year—he never wore that turban. Now suddenly he's wearing a turban that he claims was a gift from encountering a prince and ridding him of some creature."

"He wasn't wearing the turban when I first met him," Harry said suddenly. "I even shook his hand. In the Leaky Cauldron, when Hagrid took me to Diagon Alley. He did still stutter horribly though, come to think of it."

"He's so jumpy," Hermione said skeptically. "Do you really think a Professor who's so scared about teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts would really want to steal the stone?"

"Maybe he's so jumpy because he's been planning on stealing it all along," Meadow pointed out. "Halloween—who told you three about the troll in the dungeon?"

"Quirrell," Shane said quietly as Ron's mouth was opening and closing like a fish out of water.

"If he didn't let the troll in himself, how would he know about it? Why wasn't he at the feast himself?" Meadow asked them. "Look, I know it's a stretch. But I'm telling you, _it's not my dad after the stone._"

"Are you three actually believing this dung?" Ron spluttered, looking quickly between them all. "That's the biggest pile of bullshite if I've ever heard it. Harry—you've overheard conversations with Quirrell and Snape and each time you've heard Snape threaten him! Hermione and I both saw Snape _not_ blinking and his mouth _moving_ when your broomstick went all wonky. That's not a coincidence."

It seemed as though Meadow was still outnumbered about who the suspected thief was. Meadow fell silent over the matter and turned back to Shane, ready to start quizzing him on potions again. Harry, with a sympathetic look at Meadow, left his things in the library for the other three to bring back up to their common room once they were finished in the library as he headed to practice.

-.-.-

The next morning, notes were delivered to Harry and Neville at the Gryffindor table and to Draco and Meadow at the Slytherin table.

_Your detention will take place at eleven o'clock tonight. Meet Mr. Filch in the entrance hall. Professor S. Snape. _

Meadow assumed McGonagall had given the order to Harry and Neville. Guilt trickled back up towards her throat. She had forgotten about their detention to do in the furor over to the points they'd lost. Meadow found it curious that it had taken so long for the professors to figure out the best punishment for them. Granted, it was quite the unique proposition she and Harry put them in. Considering Professor McGonagall and Snape had believed she and Harry came up with a phony story about a dragon in order to get Draco into trouble while Neville overheard that Draco was going after them. . . well, it was better than being caught with a real, illegal dragon that she and Harry had been disposing of onto Charlie Weasley's friends.

She did feel like she got what she deserved. Messing about in other people's lives was a trial and error as there would be external factors no one would have thought of until it already happened. . . poor Neville.

-.-.-


	21. 21 Shadows of Terror

**I would like to point out—in the hp wiki page and the hp-lexicon page for Quidditch, there are some differences. And for the purpose of making sense via story created by JK Rowling. Originally, I had it in my head that the last Quidditch match came **_**before**_** exams, which would make perfect sense. **_**If not for this book. "'Yeah, Dumbledore's off his rocker, all right,' Ron said proudly. 'Listen, you've got to be up for the end-of-year feast tomorrow. The points are all in and Slytherin won, of course—you missed the last Quidditch match, we were steamrollered by Ravenclaw without you—but the food'll be good.'"**_** Meaning, the Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw (the final, 6****th ****game of the year) match doesn't take place until after exams and before the end-of-term feast. Therefore, I'll be following hp-lexicon's page for the Quidditch Schedule and having it that weekend after exams, as the hp-lexicon is a bit more accurate.**

Miracle

_She did feel like she got what she deserved. Messing about in other people's lives was a trial and error as there would be external factors no one would have thought of until it already happened. . . poor Neville._

Chapter 21: Shadows of Terror

Fifteen minutes before eleven o'clock that night, Meadow said goodbye to Daphne and Theodore (though, he was still giving her a cold shoulder) and she headed awkwardly up to the entrance hall with Draco.

"I didn't know you were helping with the bloody dragon," Draco hissed at her.

"I don't see why that would matter," she replied quietly.

Draco let out a short nose breath, "I told you to let them crash and burn by themselves—and you did lose those fifty points."

"And you lost twenty points for being a nosy prick," Meadow snapped. "If you didn't try and get Harry into trouble, I would have never been caught!"

"Whatever you say to make yourself sleep at night, Meadow," Draco responded hotly.

Meadow narrowed her eyes at him, "I don't know why you have such a vendetta against them, but it bloody well needs to stop. I can not take it anymore."

"Snake," Draco jeered at her before sulking off towards Filch.

The Caretaker had a horrible smile upon his face as he watched Draco and Meadow approach him. "Think you'll get brownie points for showing up early?" He leered. "Think again, if it were up to me your punishment would be much worse in the dungeons."

A few moments later, Harry and a sniffling, tearful Neville, came down the stairs.

"Follow me," Filch said nastily, lighting a lamp and leading them outside.

"I bet you'll think twice about breaking a school rule again, won't you, eh?" he said, smirking at the four. "Oh yeah. . . hard work and pain are the best teachers if you ask me. . . it's just a pity they let the old punishments die out. . . hang you by your wrists from the ceiling for a few days, I've got the chains still in my office, keep 'em well oiled in case they're ever needed. . ."

Meadow's face became screwed up at the thought of the old punishments. How long ago did Hogwarts use those chains to hang students by their wrists?

"Right, off we go, and don't think of running off, now, it'll be worse for you if you do," Filch continued in an ominous voice.

They marched off across the dark grounds, having only Filch's lamp to guide them, as the moon was bright, but the clouds kept casting horrible shadows over them. Neville kept sniffing. Meadow wondered what their punishment would be since it took place so late at night and out on the grounds.

"_. . . nothing gives you the right to walk around school at night, especially these days, it's very dangerous. . ."_

Professor McGonagall's voice echoed in Meadow's mind and the detention must really be truly horrible, as Filch also sounded delighted at their punishment. Ahead, Meadow saw the lighted windows of Hagrid's hut. Then they heard a distant shout.

"Is that you, Filch? Hurry up, I want ter get started."

Meadow's whole body was plunged into a wave of relief. They were working with Hagrid; the punishment couldn't be too terrible then. Harry must have been feeling the same way as Filch had glanced back and noticed the relief upon their faces, because he said, "I suppose you think you'll be enjoying yourselves with that oaf? Well, think again—it's into the forest you're going and I'm much mistaken if you'll all come out in one piece."

At this, Neville let out a little moan, looking paler than ever in the lamplight, and Draco stopped dead in his tracks.

"The forest?" His voice was unusually high. "We can't go in there at night—there's all sorts of things in there—like werewolves, I heard."

Neville made a choking noise and Meadow bet a Philosopher's Stone he was close to fainting.

"That's your problem, isn't it?" Filch said, his voice was crackling with glee over the terror he just inflicted into the first years. "Should've thought of them werewolves before you got in trouble, shouldn't you?"

Hagrid's large figure came looming over them from out of the dark, Fang at his heel. He was carrying his large crossbow, and a quiver full of arrows hung over his shoulder.

"Abou' time. I bin waitin' fer half an hour already. All right, Harry, Meadow?"

"I shouldn't be too friendly to them, Hagrid," Filch said coldly, "they're here to be punished, after all."

"That's why yer late, is it?" Hargid said with a frown at Filch. "Bin lecturin' them, eh? 'Snot your place ter do that. Yeh've done yer bit, I'll take over from here."

"I'll be back at dawn," Filch said, "for what's left of them," he added nastily with a cackle of horrible laughter as he turned and started back toward the castle, his lamp bobbing away into the darkness.

Draco turned to Hagrid. "I'm not going in that forest," he said and Meadow was actually basking in the hint of panic in his voice. To hear Draco not be his fake ego was a blessing in disguise for Meadow, as she heard the Draco she knew from her childhood.

"Yeh are if yeh want ter stay at Hogwarts," Hagrid replied fiercely. "Yeh've done wrong an' now yeh've got ter pay fer it."

"But this is servant stuff, it's not for students to do." Draco persisted, "I thought we'd be copying lines or something, if my father knew I was doing this, he'd—"

"—tell yer that's how it is at Hogwarts," Hagrid growled. "Copyin' lines! What good's that ter anyone? Yeh'll do summat useful or yeh'll get out. If yeh think yer father'd rather you were expelled, then get back off ter the castle an' pack. Go on!"

Draco didn't move. He looked furious at Hagrid, but then dropped his gaze. Meadow really couldn't help but feel like she was on cloud nine, seeing Draco get put into his place instead of being allowed to bully himself out of something.

"Right then," Hagrid said very seriously, "now, listen carefully, 'cause it's dangerous what we're gonna do tonight, an' I don' want no one takin' risk. Follow me over here a moment."

He led them to the very edge of the forest. Holding his lamp up high, he pointed down a narrow, winding earth track that disappeared into the thick, black trees. A light breeze lifted their hair as they look into the forest and suddenly, Meadow no longer felt high on glee over Draco's terror. That same panic Draco had just displayed started to sink into Meadow and her habit of chewing her lip started up.

"Look there, see that stuff shinin' on the ground? Silvery stuff? That's unicorn blood. There's a unicorn in there bin hurt badly by summat. This is the second time in a week. I found one dead last Wednesday. We're gonna try an' find the poor thing. We might have ter put it out of its misery."

"And what if whatever hurt the unicorn finds us first?" Draco asked, his voice shaking as he was unable to keep the fear out of his voice.

"There's nothin' that lives in the forest that'll hurt yeh if yer with me or Fang," Hagrid said. "An' keep ter the path. Right, now, we're gonna split inter two parties an' follow the trail in diff'rent directions. There's blood all over the place, it must've bin staggerin' around since last night at least."

"I want Fang," Draco said quickly, looking at his long teeth.

"All right, but I warn yeh, he's a coward," Hagrid said and Fang groaned as he cocked his head to the side. "So me, Harry, an' Meadow'll go one way an' Draco, Neville, an' Fang'll go the other—"

"Why can't Meadow come with me?" Draco pestered. "We are both Slytherin after all, doesn't it make sense to pair us together?"

"No, that's exactly ter reason why you'll be sepa'ated," Hagrid growled at him. "Now, if any of us finds the unicorn, we'll send up green sparks, right? Get yer wands out an' practice now—"

The four got their wands out and shot green sparks into the air.

"—that's it—an' if anyone gets in trouble, send up red sparks, an' we'll all come an' find yeh—so, be careful—let's go."

They trudged into the black and silent forest. A little way into it they reached a fork in the earth patch. Meadow, Harry, and Hagrid took the left path while Draco, Neville, and Fang took the right. Only the crunching of leaves and needles were heard under their feet as they continued on the path. Every now and then a ray of moonlight through the branches above lit a spot of silver-blue blood on the fallen leaves.

Hagrid looked very worried; and this did not calm Meadow's nerves down at all.

"_Could_ a werewolf be killing the unicorns?" Harry asked.

"Not fast enough," Hagrid responded. "It's not easy ter catch a unicorn, they're powerful magic creatures. I never knew one ter be hurt before."

Out of all the years Hagrid had been a Game Keeper, this was the first for a unicorn to be hurt, let alone two unicorns to have probably been killed. Meadow chewed on her lip and started to twiddle with her necklace with her left hand as her right was firmly grasping her wand.

They walked past a mossy tree stump. Meadow could hear running water from a stream nearby. As she scanned the path to find where exactly the stream was, the unicorn blood had still appeared splattered everywhere.

"Yeh all right, Meadow?" Hagrid whispered to her. Meadow realized her face was showing all the terror and worry on it like an open book. "Don' worry, it can't've gone far if it's this badly hurt, an' then we'll be able ter—GET BEHIND THAT TREE!"

Hagrid bellowed and grabbed Harry and Meadow, hoisting them off the ground, off the path, and behind a towering oak. He pulled out an arrow and fitted it into his crossbow, raising it, ready to fire. Meadow's heart was jumping at her throat, making her feel extremely sick. She was clutching Harry's right hand in her left and his upper arm with her right hand. She was sure he was sick of people grabbing onto him for security, but he didn't push Meadow off.

The three of them listened to the forest. Something was slithering over dead leaves nearby: it sounded like a cloak trailing along the ground with no footsteps crushing the floor of the forest. Meadow squeezed her eyes shut, and buried her face into Harry's arm. After a few seconds, the sound faded away and Hagrid led them back on the path.

"I knew it," he murmured. "There's summat in here that shouldn' be."

"A werewolf?" Harry suggested.

"No, there's a pack that lives in here," Meadow said.

"That wasn' no werewolf an' it wasn' no unicorn, neither," Hagrid added grimly. "Right, follow me, but careful, now."

As they walked ahead more slowly, they had ears straining for the faintest sound. Suddenly, in the clearing ahead, something definitely moved and Meadow clutched Harry's arm tighter.

"Who's there?" Hagrid called. "Show yerself—I'm armed!"

If Hagrid was feeling any bit of nervousness, his voice did not give it away as it sounded confident.

Into the clearing came the body of a horse with the torso up of a man that joined together. The man part of the centaur had a full head of long, red hair, and the horse part was a beautiful chestnut color with a long, red tail gleaming in the moonlight. Meadow immediately felt silly for crushing Harry's arm and let go as she stared at the centaur. Harry's jaw dropped over the sight of him.

"Oh, it's you, Ronan," Hagrid said, relief filled his breath. "How are yeh?" He walked forward and shook the centaur's hand.

"Good evening to you, Hagrid," Ronan said. His voice was deep and sorrowful. "Were you going to shoot me?" He eyed the crossbow that was now lowered in Hagrid's other hand.

"Can't be too careful, Ronan," Hagrid said, patting his crossbow. "There's summat bad loose in the forest," he stepped aside and motioned for Harry and Meadow to step forward. "This is Harry Potter an' Meadow Snape, by the way. Students up at the school. An' this is Ronan, you two. He's a centaur."

"We've noticed," Meadow said her voice small, but she went and shook Ronan's large hand.

"Good evening," Ronan said, peering down at the two after he let go of Meadow's hand. "Students, are you? And do you learn much, up at the school?"

"Erm—" Harry was caught off guard.

"Yes," Meadow said, though she was glad to see the centaur instead of whatever was hunting unicorns, she still was shocked at his presence. "A bit."

"A bit. Well, that's something," Ronan sighed, his voice still full of sadness. He flung his head back, causing his long red hair to float around him, and looked up at the sky. "Mars is bright tonight."

"Yeah," Hagrid said, glancing up at the sky. "Listne, I'm glad we've run inter yeh, Ronan, 'cause there's a unicorn bin hurt—you seen anythin'?"

Ronan didn't answer as he stared unblinkingly upward. He sighed again.

"Always the innocent are the first victims," He said mournfully. "So it has been for ages past, so it is now."

"Yeah," Hagrid said again, "but have yeh seen anythin', Ronan? Anythin' unusual?"

"Mars is bright tonight," Ronan repeated, while Hagrid watched him impatiently. "Unusually bright."

"Yeah, but I was meanin' anythin' unusual a bit nearer home. So, yeh noticed anythin' strange?" Hagrid said, trying to hid his annoyance with the centaur.

Yet again, Ronan took his time to answer. Meadow stared up at the sky searching for the bright red planet. At last, Ronan answered, "The forest hides many secrets."

A movement in the trees behind Ronan made Hagrid raise his bow again, but it was only a second centaur, black-haired and -bodied, he looked wilder-looking than Ronan.

"Hullo, Bane. All right?" Hagrid said, greeting the second centaur.

"Good evening, Hagrid, I hope you are well?"

"Well enough. Look, I've jus' bin askin' Ronan, you seen anythin' odd in here lately? There's a unicorn bin injured—would yeh know anythin' about it?"

Bane walked over to stand next to Ronan. He looked skyward. "Mars is bright tonight," he said simply.

"We've heard," Hagrid replied grumpily. "Well, if either of you do see anythin', let me know, won't yeh? We'll be off, then."

Meadow and Harry followed Hagrid out of the clearing deeper into the forest, staring over their shoulders at Ronan and Bane until the trees blocked their view.

"Never, try an' get a straight answer out of a centaur. Ruddy stargazers. Not interested in anythin' closer'n the moon," Hagrid said irritably as he slugged his crossbow back over his shoulder and pushed through the thickening leaves.

"Are there many of them here?" Meadow asked curiously.

"Oh, a fair few. . .Keep themselves to themselves mostly, but they're good enough about turnin' up if ever I want a word. They're deep, mind, centaurs. . . they know things. . . jus' don' let on much."

"Mars is unusually bright tonight," Meadow said softly, a hint of laughter in her voice.

Hagrid glanced down at her with a frown upon his large face.

"D'you think that was a centaur we heard earlier?" Harry asked, oblivious.

"Did that sound like hooves ter yeh? Nah, if yeh ask me, that was what's bin killin' the unicorns—never heard anythin' like it before." Hagrid said gruffly.

"A war is coming," Meadow said suddenly as they continued to walk through the dense, dark trees.

"What?" Harry asked, distractedly, he had been glancing nervously over his shoulder every few steps.

"Mars is bright tonight," Meadow repeated Bane and Ronan. "In Astronomy, Mars is named after the Roman God of War. A war is coming."

"Ah," Hagrid dismissed her. "Mars is bright often and it don' mean war."

Meadow fell silent and glanced around the path. Red sparks lit up the sky. "Hagrid! Look!" Meadow grabbed his arm. "Red sparks, the others are in trouble!"

"Yeh two wait here!" Hagrid shouted as he rushed off the path towards the red sparks. "Stay on the path, I'll come back for yeh!"

He crashed through the undergrowth and Meadow and Harry looked at each other nervously, very scared, until they couldn't hear Hagrid's footsteps. The rustling of leaves from the light wind was heard around them.

"You don't think they've been hurt, do you?" Meadow whimpered, thinking of the others.

"I don't really care if Malfoy has, but if something's got Neville. . . it's our fault he's here in the first place," Harry said as he moved closer to Meadow.

"_Lumos,"_ Meadow whispered and her wand lit up, allowing for the two to analyze their surroundings better.

She moved her wand around, though immediately regretted it, the light cast shadows on the trees around them, causing a panic to crawl through Meadow. The minutes dragged by. Every sound they heard, Meadow cast her light over to it only to reveal small animals or a pile of leaves that collected together. What was going on? Where were the others?

At last, a great crunching noise announced Hagrid's return. Draco, Neville, and Fang were with him as Hagrid, fuming, had a large hand shoving Draco ahead of him. Draco, it seemed, had sneaked up behind Neville and grabbed him as a joke. Neville panicked and sent up the sparks.

"We'll be lucky ter catch anythin' now," Hagrid was saying roughly, "with the racket you two were makin'. Right, we're changin' groups since Malfoy can't take this punishment seriously—" he glared at the boy, who's normally slicked back hair was tousled. "—Harry, Meadow, go with Fang. Neville an' this idiot will stay with me. We've gotta get this done, and clea'ly, yeh need to be watched bette'."

Draco looked furious being stuck with Hagrid. He had probably hoped the joke would have him be with Meadow instead. She looked at him disappointed, and then turned on her heel and disappeared into the heart of the forest with Harry and Fang. They walked for nearly half an hour in silence, deeper and deeper into the forest, until the path became almost impossible to follow because the trees were so thick. Meadow's eyes were trailed on the ground, where the unicorn blood was showing up more and more. A large puddle laid in the crevice of a tree root. The poor creature must have been thrashing around in pain close by.

"Look—" Harry's voice said, so quietly Meadow wasn't sure if she heard him at all. But his arm was held up, stopping her from walking closer.

"_Nox,"_ Meadow whispered, putting her light out. It took a few seconds for their eyes to adjust to the darkness of the forest.

But up ahead, there was a clearing thought the tangled branches of an ancient oak. In the clearing, there was something bright white gleaming on the ground. They inched closer to get a better look at the white patch of ground.

Meadow whimpered. It was the unicorn. And it was dead. Meadow never saw anything so beautiful and sad. Its long, slender legs were stuck out at odd angles where it had fallen and its man was spread pearly-white on the dark leaves. Its black eyes lifeless as it stared at nothing. And its golden hooves covered in its own silvery-blue blood and dirt. Meadow put a hand over her mouth, a large mass formed in her throat as she started to morn over the creature.

Harry had taken one step toward it when a slithering sound made him freeze where he stood. Meadow's breath stopped as she watched a hooded figure crawl out of the shadows. She, Harry, and Fang stood transfixed, watching the cloaked figure. It reached the unicorn, lowered its head over the wound in the poor animal's side, and began to drink its blood.

Frozen in their places, the hooded figure drank deeper. Suddenly, Fang let out a booming bark, growling at the figure, his hair raised up on his neck and spine.

The hooded figure raised its head and looked right at Harry. Meadow watched as unicorn blood dribbled down its front. The thing got to its feet and glided closer to the two. All of Fang's furious, loud barking and growling quickly turned into whimpers and whines. He bolted from the two. Leaving them with this _thing_ swiftly coming closer and closer to them.

"AAAHHH!" Harry screamed, grabbing his head and staggering backward. He tripped and fell into Meadow and she crashed to the forest floor with the trees and night sky swimming in her vision as the galloping of hooves filled her head.

A dark figure jumped over Meadow and Harry. Meadow, who was gripping onto Harry's shoulder and torso as he withered on the ground next to her in pain. Harry's knuckles were white as he held onto his head.

Whatever had jumped over them had driven the hooded figure away from them and circled back around to the two. "Harry?" Meadow whispered to him, but he was still holding onto his head firmly. A minute passed and he was finally able to loosen his grip.

Another minute passed and Harry was able to look up and see what Meadow was staring at.

A third centaur was standing over them protectively. It wasn't Ronan or Band; this one looked younger; he had white-blond hair and a palomino body. He offered a hand to Harry before helping Meadow up as well, as Harry had pinned Meadow's legs between the forest floor and his body when he fell.

"Are you all right?" the centaur asked, peering at both of them curiously.

"Yes—thank you—what _was_ that?" Harry asked, dusting himself off.

The centaur didn't answer. He had astonishingly blue eyes, like pale sapphires. Meadow watched as the centaur's eyes landed on Harry's forehead.

"Oh my," Meadow said as she caught sight of Harry scar. It was an angry pink, and stood out much more lividly than normal.

"You are the Potter boy," the centaur said finally. "You had better get back to Hagrid. The forest is not safe at this time—especially for you." He looked between the two. "Nor you," he added as an afterthought. "Can you ride? It will be quicker this way. My name is Firenze," he lowered himself onto his front legs so Harry and Meadow could clamber onto his back.

"Harry."

"Meadow Snape."

Firenze inclined his head respectfully at each of them before he stood with them upon his back. He turned away from the clearing to head away from the heart of the forest. Away from the dead unicorn whose blood was just drank. Abruptly, there was a sound of more galloping from the other side of the clearing. Ronan and Bane came bursting through the trees, their flanks heaving and sweaty. Firenze stepped around to see the two centaurs.

"Firenze!" Bane thundered; his deep voice angry. "What are you doing? You have humans on your back! Have you no shame? Are you a common mule?"

"Do you realize who this is?" Firenze said sharply. "This is the Potter boy. The quicker he leaves this forest, the better."

"What have you been telling him?" growled Bane. "Remember, Firenze, we are sworn not to set ourselves against the heavens. Have we not read what it to come in the movements of the planets?"

Ronan pawed the ground nervously; Bane seemed to be the leader of the heard. "I'm sure Firenze thought he was acting for the best," his voice still as gloomy as ever.

"For the best!" Bane kicked his back legs out in anger, spraying soil and leaves behind him and splattering the trees behind him. "What is that to do with us? Centaurs are concerned with what has been foretold! It is not our business to run around like donkeys after stray humans in our forest!"

Firenze suddenly reared on his hind legs in anger, so Meadow had to grab onto Harry's waist and Harry grabbed onto Firenze's shoulders to stay on.

"Do you not see that unicorn?" Firenze bellowed at Bane. "Do you not understand why it was killed? Or have the planets not let you in on that secret? I set myself against what is lurking in this forest, Bane, yes, with humans alongside me if I must!"

Firenze wheeled around; Harry and Meadow clutching on as best as they could. They plunged off into the trees, leaving Ronan and Bane behind them.

Meadow couldn't piece together anything anymore, the traumatic experience of seeing that figure drink unicorn blood and Harry screaming over his head had shook Meadow.

"Why's Bane so angry?" Harry asked. "What was that thing you saved us from, anyway?"

Firenze slowed to a walk, warning the two to keep their heads ducked in case of low-hanging branches. He did not answer Harry's question and Firenze walked through the trees in silence for a long time. Meadow figured that Firenze either couldn't answer those questions or no longer wanted to talk. She readjusted her arms around Harry and pressed her cheek against his back. She was exhausted from tonight. The stress and fear had drained her.

They were passing through a particularly dense patch of trees when Firenze stopped unexpectedly.

"Harry Potter, do you know what unicorn blood is used for?" he asked.

"No," Harry said, startled by the odd question. "We've only used the horn and tail hair in Potions."

Meadow perked up, curious on the unicorn blood. "That is because it is a monstrous thing, to slay a unicorn," Firenze said both sad and angry. "Only one who has nothing to lose, and everything to gain, would commit such a crime. The blood of a unicorn will keep you alive, even if you are an inch from death, but at a terrible price. You have slain something pure and defenseless to save yourself, and you will have but a half-life, a cursed life, from the moment the blood touches your lips."

Meadow's breath caught.

"But who'd be that desperate?" Harry wondered aloud. "If you're going to be cursed forever, death's better, isn't it?"

"It is," Firenze agreed, "unless all you need is to stay alive long enough to drink something else—something that will bring you back to full strength and power—something that will mean you can never die. Mr. Potter, Miss Snape, do you know what is hidden in the school at this very moment?"

"The Philosopher's Stone! Of course—the Elixir of Life! But I don't understand who—"

"Can you think of nobody who has waited many years to return to power, who has clung to life, awaiting their change?"

Harry fell silent in thought and Meadow paled; her stomach was turning. When, finally Harry voiced Meadow's thoughts. "Do you mean, that was _Vol—_"

"Meadow! Meadow, are you all right?"

Draco was running toward them down the path, Hagrid and Neville puffing behind him. Meadow looked at Firenze again, who was giving the two of them knowing looks. He put himself quite at risk to help them.

"I'm fine—" Meadow said shortly, unaware of how distant her voice sounded.

"Hagrid, the unicorn's dead," Harry said, looking at the oversized man, whom was peering up at the two concerned. "It's in that clearing back there."

"This is where I leave you," Firenze murmured to them as Hagrid hurried off to examine the unicorn. "You are safe now."

Meadow and Harry slid off his back.

"Good luck, Harry Potter," Firenze said, those pale sapphire blue eyes stared intently at Harry. "The planets have been read wrongly before now, even by centaurs—"

"War is coming," Meadow whispered suddenly, causing Firenze to blink at her, but he gave her a knowing look before replying.

"I hope we have read the planets wrong this time as well," Firenze turned and cantered back into the depth of the forest, leaving Meadow and Harry shivering.

Draco rushed over to Meadow and pulled her into a bone-crushing hug. "When Fang came back without you—we thought—we thought you were dead," he pulled back and smack her lightly on the side of her head. "You're supposed to shoot up red sparks if you're in trouble!" Draco scolded her.

Meadow nodded, "I know, but we're fine. See? I'm alive." She looked up at Harry, who smirked slightly when he caught Meadow's eye. He was talking with Neville to reassure him he was fine.

-.-.-

By the time Meadow and Draco had gotten back to the Slytherin common room, the past year had been forgiven. As Draco admitted to being jealous over her friendship with Harry as Lucius Malfoy had wanted Draco to befriend the Gryffindor. Before Harry was sorted into Gryffindor Lucius believed that Harry was going to become the next Dark Lord.

The two stayed up in the common room talking until the sun gleamed through the water of the Black Lake and through the windows. Meadow kept seeing the figure a secret, not wanting to alarm Draco or it getting back to any of the former Death Eaters that You-Know-Who could be back on the rise again. Meadow would talk to Harry about what they saw later.

Throats sore, eyes flickering with exhaustion, and yawning every few seconds, Meadow and Draco bid each other a good night. Meadow quickly changed and crawled into her bed, pulling the curtains around her and shoving her head under her pillow to block out as much light and sound around her.

-.-.-

**A bit of a shorter chapter, but I think it's a perfect end to an eventful few chapters. Anyway, let me know what you think. Year one is winding down; only end-of-term exams left along with the big reveal of who's after the Philosopher's Stone. **


	22. 22 Put to the Test

**Super long chapter ahead! So, you'll either really like this one or not. Also, I apologize for the long pause between my last update and this one—I wanted to make sure everything was perfect and I believe I'll take another break between this update and the next. **_**Why?**_** Because next update with include the beginning of BOOK TWO: CHAMBER OF SECRETS! So, that's exciting right?**

**P.S. I have now taken down the poll on my profile. If you wish to see First Year Exams that I have created, let me know in the comments. But as of now, I will not be posting it. **

Miracle

_Throats sore, eyes flickering with exhaustion, and yawning every few seconds, Meadow and Draco bid each other a good night. Meadow quickly changed and crawled into her bed, pulling the curtains around her and shoving her head under her pillow to block out as much light and sound around her. _

Chapter 22: Put to the Test

The weekend went by too fast for Meadow, and on Monday morning at breakfast, she could barely eat. She didn't feel ready for end-of-term exams starting today. Meadow didn't know if it was from nerves over exams or if it was from possibly seeing You-Know-Who with Harry in the Forbidden Forest.

She forced herself to eat some toast as she looked over her notes for Magical Theory. It was the first exam of the day. This particular subject didn't grab at Meadow's attention as well as others and she didn't study it as much as what she probably should have. It wasn't the worst subject in the world, it was basically a class taught just to cover the theoretical standpoint of magic. Just as Meadow was looking over the principles of what makes spells work, the bell rang.

Meadow glanced around at the other first years in her house, most were pulling overconfident faces and put on their best swagger as they headed out of the Great Hall. She joined Daphne and Theodore. Daphne had a smug expression upon her face, though Theodore looked rather disheveled.

"Ready?" Meadow asked them. Theodore had been better terms with Meadow since her detention and noticing that she was spending time not snooping around or dodging them.

"No."

"Yes."

Theodore and Daphne answered together. "Oh, c'mon, this will be the easiest exam of them all," Daphne said, poking Theodore's shoulder as they followed the rest of the Slytherin first years to the new classroom they were assigned to.

"Flying will be the easiest," Theodore said, his voice tight, as if he were about to be sick.

"I never figured you'd be one for exam nerves," Meadow said quietly for him. "Just Magical Theory and Defense Against the Dark Arts this morning and Flying this afternoon—so mostly all easy."

"Until tomorrow," he said and his face paled. The undereye was purple and puffy on Theodore's face; Meadow suspected he barely got any sleep or pulled an all-nighter studying. Thankfully, his worry for exams made him completely forget about icing Meadow out.

Potions was tomorrow, the written exam first in the morning before they would be pulled into a dungeon room for them to brew something by memory. "Don't worry about that now," Daphne said and rubbed his shoulders. "Just think about Magical Theory. That's all you need to know for this hour. And afterward, during break, then you can freak out some more."

"That's not very encouraging," Meadow whispered to her.

But their conversation was stopped as they entered the normally empty classroom. It was large, allowing for all four houses of the first years to sit comfortably away from each other. The classroom was cleaned and polished, each desk had a new quill and ink bottle set upon them. Professor Burbage stood at the front of the classroom, her strawberry blonde hair pulled up into a bun, and her hands clasp together as she waited for everyone to take their seats.

Once Meadow had picked a desk, towards the back of the classroom she looked around. The walls were bare and the sun beat hotly down from the windows. The more time she spent in this classroom, the stuffier it became.

"Okay, Class," Professor Burbage said in her soft voice. "End-of-the-year exams start today. How is everyone feeling?"

There was a collective groan from everyone except for Hermione and the Ravenclaws.

"Hopefully that feeling goes away after this week as next week you all get to enjoy the weather as exams are being graded!" She said cheerfully. "Now, I want you all to do the best you can, take your time." She levitated the exams to their desks with a silent wave of her wand. "You may begin," Professor Burbage said and magically flipped over the eighty paper exams.

The scratching of quills filled the room. It echoed in Meadow's ears as she dipped her new quill into the new ink pot. Anti-Cheating Charms were placed on the quills so it was all up to the individual to answer the questions without peaking at other's papers. Anxiously Meadow glanced out of the room and saw everyone with their heads down. And then irritation set in and prickled at the back of her neck; the scratching of quills echoed and Meadow clenched her jaw. She cracked her neck and blinked as she looked at the first question.

But her eyes wouldn't focus with the sound of all seventy-nine other quills against exams all around her. Meadow's cheeks grew hot with embarrassment, a few people had turned to the second page of the exam already, and Meadow was still stuck at reading question one. She bit the inside of her lip and rubbed her eyes, probably smearing some ink onto her face.

Out of frustration or desperation, Meadow turned to the back of the exam. To the essay portion of the Magical Theory exam. Thank Merlin, she was able to focus on this question.

_What is the First Law in The Fundamental Laws of Magic?_

Meadow dipped her quill back into the ink pot and started to write. Her letters turned into words and formed sentences when put all together. The high stake of completing the exam started to look up in Meadow's favor as she now was able to tune out the turning of pages.

_The First Fundamental Law of Magic states, as a rule, the further someone goes towards meddling in the deepest underlying laws of magic, the harsher and more terrible the consequences will be. Exact consequences vary depending on the different caster, magic, and/or violation. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction._

Meadow frowned at her short response, but really, the first law was straight-forward. However, she pushed though, continuing to answer the questions of the exam, and soon, Meadow wasn't sure how much time had passed. Though, a quick glance around the room told her they had been their awhile, since she was one of the only students left in the classroom. Her face flushed again, but she forced herself to look over her circled answers and essays yet again.

Blinking at the exam, Meadow wasn't sure if looking over her answers really helped or not. She stared at it before finally, she got up with the exam clenched in her hands. Slowly, she made her way up to the front of the classroom and gave Professor Burbage her exam.

"Everything okay, Meadow?" The professor asked her, and Meadow nodded, not wanting to bother the older witch with exam anxiety. "Here," Professor Burbage said with a smile, "these might help you." She handed Meadow a small package. "Don't worry, they're perfectly okay to use during exams; you're not the only one who will use them. Have a good summer holiday."

"Thank you, Professor Burbage," Meadow said quietly as she clasped the small package. She walked out of the classroom, glancing at Neville Longbottom, who was scribing away furiously as he tried to finish his exam before the last five minutes were done.

Meadow pushed through the door and opened her fingers. She saw two, very small, yellow ear plugs. Meadow slid the small note that came with it out of the bag. _"To help block out noise. Put them in your ears and they will magically fit your ears and turn flesh colored."_

Meadow took a deep breath and headed down a corridor. She sank to the ground against the cool stone. The first exam was over and the second one would start in half an hour. It was nice to have a moment to herself. Alone. Something Meadow had once hated, but now, at Hogwarts, throughout this year, she didn't seem to mind. Being alone meant being able to breath. Nothing chaotic going on. No schemes being tossed around.

"So, how'd your first exam go, ickle first year?" And all so quickly, being alone was something Meadow was perfectly happy to part with.

She looked to her right, "Hey, George."

"How many times to I have to tell you? I'm Fred," The Weasley twin teased.

Meadow laughed and leaned her head on his shoulder, "So, how'd your first exam go?"

George waved a hand, dismissing her question, "Just another year of exams that don't matter."

"Oh?" Meadow asked. Exams meant everything to her. Moving onto her second year. And the next year. And the next. O.W.L.s the following, which determined her classes and career path. Another year of exams. And then N.E.W.T.s. Exams meant a lot to Meadow. And particularly, it meant her future. These exams could make or break Meadow's future.

"Don't think Fred and I will need 'em for our plans," George said very quietly.

"Jokes and pranks for life?" Meadow teased, "And what would your mother say?"

"'Don't you two even think about it!'" George mimicked his mother's voice. "'You will never make anything of yourselves with all your stupid pranks. No, Fred—George, you _will_ follow your father's footsteps into the ministry.' Er—or something along those lines."

"Sounds like you do have something planned for your pranks already," Meadow replied gently; she hesitated, her hand outstretched. And then—she placed her hand on top of George's hand. "Or that you've already been lectured on the subject."

George took a breath and turned his hand. He entwined his fingers in hers. "One could say that," he turned towards her and Meadow lifted her head off his shoulder. His blue eyes with an orange fleck in them bore into hers.

"Isn't if funny?" Meadow asked as she looked into his eyes. Her voice sounded far away.

"Hm?"

Those eyes. So inviting to stare into.

"How our parents' opinions of us bare a heavy weight onto us," Meadow said finally. A vision swam in George's eyes the longer Meadow look into them.

He blinked and the vision was gone from George's eyes in Meadow's sight. "A huge weight," he said as he put his arm around her, pulling her closer. Meadow leaned into him, the comfort of being held was reassuring, especially with how panicked Meadow got during the exam.

She wasn't sure how long they sat together, not saying anything, but enjoying the company.

DING! DING! DING!

The two jumped apart from each other as the bell surprised them.

"Hm—"

"Er—"

"Best get back to exams—" Meadow said quickly as she stood up.

"Blimey, time goes by fast with you," George muttered as he too, got to his feet. "Good luck on your exams—" Meadow was backpedaling towards the classroom she felt like she just left. "—Oi! I think you dropped this," he picked up the small package with the note Meadow was given.

Meadow's face lit on fire as she rushed over to grab the ear plugs. She snatched them out of his hand, her face so hot she felt her nose start to run.

"Ear plugs?" George asked.

Meadow's face started to splotch purple and white with embarrassment and she brought a sleeve up to her nose quickly to dab at the liquid. The warning bell whistled and she stood staring at George. Words failed her and she felt like a fish out of water. Meadow opened her mouth to respond, but she snapped it shut, tears forming in her eyes over the humiliation she felt, and turned on her heel. She rushed off to the Defense Against the Dark Arts exam.

Daphne gave her a concerned look as Meadow took a seat behind her; Meadow's face still splotchy and multiple colors. "Wha—"

"G—g—good morning c—class," Professor Quirrell cut Daphne off. "To—today you will b-be completing y—your final exam—"

Meadow felt like crawling in a hole and staying there for eternity. But sulking wasn't an option as the Defense Against the Dark Arts exam was passed out and started. She jammed the ear plugs into her ears and blocked out Quirrell's stammering. Meadow pulled her hair over her ears to further hide the ear plugs, despite them being able to match her skin tone. It was difficult to concentrate at first, but she eventually was able to focus at the task at hand and get out of her head.

The questions for Quirrell's exam were in two sections: the first about the theory of creatures and the second about the theory of spells. Each section had two parts. The first part was matching the creatures they learned about to the description that matched. The second part was answering five questions about the specified creature. And the same with the spells.

She flipped to the back of the exam. Quickly, she was able to work backwards, working on the five questions about a certain spell or charm, before moving onto the next five questions. She finished all five questions on each spell and moved onto the matching portion.

_MATCH THE FOLLOWING TO THE CORRECT INFORMATION._

_A: Green in color and can be used to signal an emergency or call for help._

_B: Red in color and can be used to signal an emergency or call for help._

_C: The recipient receives a nasty cold and can cause them to collapse if not treated._

_D: Illuminates the caster's wand_

_E: Forces the opponent to fly backward and lose his/her wand._

_F: Causes the light illuminated from the caster's wand to go out._

_G: Used in both dueling and practical opportunities, the force is said to occasionally disorient a victim._

_H: Creates a cloud to hinder visibility to confuse the opponent and the caster to escape. _

Meadow quickly matched the spells. Quirrell made it too easy to remember which one went where. _Curse of Bogies: C. Knockback Jinx: G. Red Sparks: B. Green Sparks: A. Wand-Lighting Charm: D. Wand-Extinguishing Charm: F. Smoke Screen Spell: H. Disarming Charm: E._

She didn't seem too challenged so far, but it was only Quirrell, so, considering his classes were almost as boring as Professor Binns's class.

The creatures learned about, either as a whole, or in parts, included: a ghost, gytrash, hag, imp, red cap, werewolf, vampire, and zombie. Meadow soared through these questions, though, it could be from the ease of Quirrell's lectures, or due to the fact that she actually studied this subject with Daphne and Theodore, as well as Hermione and Shane. As Meadow went through the next few questions, she was able to relax more. Maybe Magic Theory just wasn't her forte. Or the ear plugs could be working extremely well.

_Zombies are often confused as __(blank)__, though they are two different creatures. __**Inferi. **_

_Red Caps fall under which magical creature classification from the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures? A: XX Harmless/May be domesticated. B: X Boring. C XXXXX Known wizard killer/Impossible to train. __**D: XXX Competent wizards should cope.**_

_Vampires are immortal beings. True or __**False.**_

_Gytrash's appearances are described as (circle all that apply): __**a: black eyes **__b: black skin __**c: white fur d: forked tail**_**.**

_Hags possess __(blank)__(blank)__ which is similar to that of a __(blank)._ Rudimentary Magic. Toll.

_All ghosts keep their living appearance; however, it becomes silver or grayish. __**True**__ or False. _

_(Blank)__ are distantly related to the imp, however they are different in one main physical appearance, wings. __**Pixies.**_

_A mixture of __(blank)__ and __(blank)__ applied to a fresh werewolf bite will seal the wound. A: Dittany and Dragon Blood. B: Silver and Dragon Blood. __**C: Dittany and Silver.**__ D: Wolfsbane and Dittany._

Meadow took a breath of relief. All she had was matching left for the creatures and then she was done. There was no scratching of quills echoing in her ears, the movement of people didn't bother her as much. She finished up matching and looked over her exam. Meadow was always told to double check her answers, but she never understood why—it's not like in the two minutes of rereading the questions and answers would change her mind. She stood up and took her exam to Professor Quirrell.

"Thank y-you," he stuttered, or so Meadow thought, she still had her ear plugs in.

Meadow bowed her head and left the classroom. Thankful she was done with the first half of the first day. Only thing left today was lunch and the flying exam. At least she'd be able to enjoy the weather outside.

The rest of the day went by quickly, and despite the waiting they had to do for their turn to complete the Flying exam. Often times, the Quidditch captains and/or Quidditch members would watch if time permitted to seek out new players if anyone was graduating that year. There were still try-outs, of course, but sometimes someone just needed a push to go to try-outs. And this was one way for the captains to become aware of certain talent.

The order went just the same as the sorting. Hannah Abbott was first. Followed by Susan Bones, Terry Boot, Mandy Brocklehurt, Lavender Brown, Millicent Bulstrode. . . and so on in the alphabet.

Hermione was called after Goyle, she was sweating and pink in the face as she nervously rushed off into the Quidditch Pitch. The Gryffindor was horrible at flying; she hated heights, but what can you do when flying is a part of exams at Hogwarts? Daphne's name was called next, she bid them a farewell, as the previous first years hadn't returned and Theodore's exam anxiety spiked without Daphne.

Meadow continued to lay out in the sun next to Theodore, pulling at the grass. Gabriel and Bhu were off a little way, studying potions furiously; they had waited until last week to start and seemed to be regretting their carefree nature. Granted, the two also didn't want to be near Meadow just yet, she was still someone that was on the "wrong" side of most of the Slytherins.

"You still that nervous?" She asked Theodore softly as she opened one eye to peer at him. She had pulled off her robe and balled it up under her head.

Flying didn't bother her at all. And actually, Meadow wasn't concerned with the next few days at all. Potions would be easy. Charms wasn't too difficult, and it wouldn't be like Professor Flitwick to purposely throw in trick questions. Astronomy, however, Meadow was slightly concerned about. . . it didn't really relate to any of the other subjects. Potions related to not only Charms for the finishing spells, but to Herbology for most of the ingredients-those that were plant based, at least. Charms and Transfiguration were very similar, though Transfiguration required much more concentration and meaning. Herbology related to Potions. Transfiguration to Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts. And so on. . . it was easy to apply any of the information learned in one subject to another depending on how one would look at it. But Astronomy. . . the dealings of the night sky with stars and planets. It didn't relate to anything else.

Toby Lennox, Sue Li, and Gabriel were called off onto the pitch one-by-one. Theodore grew paler.

"It's not that I'm nervous about flying," he said finally, ripping apart a small blade of grass. "It's that there will be Flint watching."

"You can't worry too much about him," Meadow said as Shane was called. She waved to him and gave him a thumbs up with a beaming smile.

Shane gave a weak smile back at Meadow and wiped the sweat off his brow before he patted down his shaggy hair again.

"How can I not?" Theodore asked her, focusing on a new chuck of grass to rip out.

"Oi," Meadow exclaimed and put her hand on his, "Watch it. The grass is alive." She pointed to the roots Theodore was holding. "Put the grass down," he did and she sat up. "Now, I just want you to take the next few minutes to relax."

"I already told you—"

"Sh," Meadow cut him off. "Sit like this—" she pulled her legs up into crisscrossed. "Put your hands on your knees," she said softly as she watched Theodore do as told. Meadow knew he wouldn't put up a fight right now, as he was anxious for anything to make the feeling go away. "Close your eyes. Take a deep breath in—hold it—and breath out."

Meadow peaked through her right eye at him. His short, bronze hair flickered in the light wind. His deep blue eyes were shut tightly. And his skin had already been sun kissed by the few times they went out in the grounds. He still looked like an overlarge goofball that Meadow remembered from the Sorting Ceremony. "Relax your eyelids. You want them barely touching—Take a deep breath in—" Ernie MacMillan was called. "—Hold it—you're soaking up the sun. You're visualizing the broom in front of you—and exhale. . ."

Meadow watched as a few lines of worry faded from Theodore's face. She winked at Draco as he stood up, brushing off his robes as he marched off, chest puffed and nose up, towards the Pitch as his name was called.

"Inhale. . . You feel the broom against your hand—hold—it feels a part of you. You kick off from the ground—exhale. . ."

Hugo Mattingley, a Ravenclaw boy was called.

"Inhale. . . the wind around you is inviting, and pushes you towards your goal. You turn to the right with ease—exhale. . ."

Raza Mohammad, a Gryffindor walked off toward the pitch.

"Inhale—your instincts take over as you preform the exam. Hold—Madam Hooch tells you to turn to the left—exhale—and you do with the slightest lean. . ."

Amanda Moon, Ravenclaw.

Gregory Munslow, Hufflepuff.

"Breath in—taking in all your concerns and worries, holding them as you look over them all, and breath out—expelling all your worries from your body," Meadow watched as Theodore took a deep breath in, he looked more relaxed now than ever.

Kellah Ndiaye, Gryffindor.

"Last one, take a deep breath in—new air fills your lungs—hold it—and exhale all your worries out, you feel lighter. You feel relaxed—"

"Theodore Nott," Madam Hooch's stern voice called.

He jolted up, although startled, he looked the most refreshed and relaxed as he had all day. "Good luck," Meadow said to him.

"Thanks," He smiled at her—a genuine smile. "I'll see you after."

She smiled at him and was just about to put her head back on the makeshift robe pillow.

"Wait—keep going," a voice called to her and Meadow looked around.

A girl in Hufflepuff colors was sitting crisscrossed with her hands on her knees and looked pleadingly at Meadow. The girl had strawberry blonde hair, a cluster of freckles splattered across the bridge of her nose and a few lighter ones over her face and neck.

"I'm sorry?" Meadow asked as she blinked at the girl.

"I'm Lynette Sawley," the Hufflepuff said. "Please, keep going—" Lynette Sawley gestured around at the group of first years.

Meadow looked around and saw a few others, sitting crisscrossed, hands on their knees and looking at her pleadingly. Sally-Anne Perks was one of them. And both Patil twins. Bhu gave Meadow and encouraging smile as he too had been listening to Meadow. Rose Wax, a Gryffindor. And a boy who Meadow vaguely remembered as Aron Woodbridge, a Ravenclaw.

"Close your eyes lightly and take a deep breath in," Meadow said, continuing on. She didn't know why she thought of the breathing techniques for Theodore, but it was something she had always done before her gymnastics competitions.

Soon, Padma and Parvati Patil were called. Then Sally-Anne. Harry was called, and despite already being on the Quidditch team and the hero of Gryffindor—he too had to take the exam.

Yolanda Reedham. Lynette Sawley thanked Meadow as she looked confident as she headed off to the pitch. Bhu followed her shortly after.

Omar Slaw. Jack Sloper. Zacharias Smith.

And finally, it was Meadow's turn. "Now, just keep taking deep breaths in for four seconds," she said as she stood up. "Hold for three seconds. And exhale for five. Focus on your breathing—good luck to you all."

Meadow entered the Quidditch Pitch. It was a straight forward exam. Get your broom up. Touch off the ground. Maintain height. Go to the right. To the left. Down. Touch down. Done. That was the Flying exam. No wonder it didn't take that long for the next student to be called. It was all over in a matter of three minutes.

She walked off the other end of the pitch, as she saw Zacharias Smith disappear behind those doors when she walked in. Assuming Meadow was correct, as Madam Hooch didn't say anything, Meadow continued through the corridor. She exited the pitch and into the area by the black lake.

The sun seemed to shine brighter and hotter now that day one of exams was over. Theodore and Daphne called her over towards the spot of grass they were sitting on, enjoying the warmth of the sun.

"So, how do you think you did?" Meadow asked both of them.

"Could have gone better," Daphne replied with a frown. "I don't know if its me or the broom, but I had a hard time trying to turn and come down."

Meadow nodded sympathetically; the thought of Theodore's exam went horrible too crossed her mind.

"I think that was the most relaxed I've ever been going into an exam so far," He said to the shock of Meadow, who blinked in surprised.

"Oh?"

"Yes," Theodore nodded. "Not sure if it was just because it was flying or because of that breathing thing."

"Breathing thing?" Daphne questioned.

"It's just something I picked up on in the Muggle world," Meadow said with a shrug. "There was this sport called Gymnastics, with competitions, and I'd always take a deep breath in before I'd compete."

"Whatever it was, it was great," Theodore said confidently.

"So, does this mean your cold shoulder towards me is over?" Meadow asked hesitated.

Theodore rolled his eyes, "I forgave you a long time ago about that."

"What!" She exclaimed; he had been giving her the silent treatment since Meadow lost those points for Slytherin.

"Yeah," he shrugged as both girls looked at him incredulously. "Don't get me wrong, I still don't like the fact that your friends with all those Gryffindors. But you did what you thought was right, assuming the whole dragon story was actually true."

"It was true," Meadow said faintly.

Theodore stuck his hand out, "Friends again?"

Meadow's jaw felt as though it hit the grass. "Friends," she said finally and took it.

-.-.-

The next day, Meadow breezed through the potions exam. Ear plugs in place, quill in hand, ink bottle full, and hair tied up, Meadow felt invincible. Of course, most of the other students in her year had been dreading Tuesday. Professor Snape had the nasty habit of blatantly favoring Slytherin over Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw. However, Meadow knew potions like the palm of her hand and was one of the first ones done with the exam. The stuffy classroom was behind her for the day, as well as the long essay questions that her father had put together. There were no multiple-choice questions on his end-of-term exam, giving no hints for the essays.

During the break and lunch hour, Meadow perused her notes on the potions they created during the year. The second half of the day was going to be brewing a potion by memory, and it was no secret to the students. Theodore's stress had come back today in full-force, despite being an average student, he was worried about failing. Daphne, on the other hand, either was very poised in her capabilities or was faking confidence under she made it. Either way, the ice queen looked just as stunning as usual. Her platinum blonde hair in two plaits before coming down into loose curls at the base of her neck. And Daphne's ice blue eyes shown brightly. Even at night, when she and Meadow had talked, not one waver of worry or slip-up in assurance occurred.

However, on the Gryffindor side: Shane was suffering from his anxiety over the exams. He looked more disheveled than normal, dark circles under his eyes, his face stuck into a frown with creases on his forehead, as his normally straight, shaggy hair was now stuck up in the most awkward angles, and he was very pale. Shane looked as though he hadn't slept for three weeks. Harry looked as though he was both a zombie and panicked, as though he hadn't been getting any sleep and figured You-Know-Who would jump out at him. Hermione constantly had her nose in a book or notes, reviewing and memorizing. And, lastly, Ron looked peaky, yet also bored. Except, Meadow had no idea what was going on in the Weasley's mind, he always looked bored in classes.

That afternoon, the houses had designated time slots on when to go to the dungeons. And when the Slytherins went down to the dungeons around two o'clock, they watched as Professor Snape escorted nineteen Hufflepuffs, all looking rather grim, out of the classroom and towards the Grand Staircase. No one was allowed to talk to each other to terminate any student giving another a heads up of what potion was going to be performed.

Professor Snape walked back, without a word he swept into the classroom, black robes trailing behind, and shut the doors quickly. Meadow and the other Slytherins assumed he was cleaning up and setting up their exams during this time. Not thirty seconds later, her father opened the doors to allow the Slytherins to go into the classroom.

"I will direct you on where to sit," he said, his voice hard. Not that it was ever soft. No, Meadow's father was not a kind and compassionate man. Not even as a father, Meadow hardly saw the caring side of him.

There were seventeen tables in total, with cauldrons already set up and each had its own set of instruments to use for measuring, cutting, and crushing. At the very front of the classroom, a number of potions ingredients were laid out in mounds. More than what would be required for any potion that was covered this year. _Clearly trying to get us to understand the potions,_ Meadow thought to herself as she eyed the ingredients.

"When I call your name, you will collect your potion ingredients from this table, and go to the station that I have directed you to. No talking will be permitted, and any questions will not be answered. Is that clear?" Severus's dark eyes scanned the students' as they all stared back at him. "_Is that clear?"_

"Yes, Sir," they replied.

"You will be completing the Forgetfulness Potion by memory," he continued. "Bulstrode."

Millicent stepped forward, looking confused, blundered up to the table and grabbed a bit of everything. She went to the station that Professor Snape had directed her to.

"Carrow."

The twins looked at each other and raised their hands.

Snape gave them a harsh look. "Which one, sir?" Hestia asked quietly, though the room was so silent, it was heard loud and clear.

"Which one has the first name alphabetical," he replied slowly.

Flora hurried forward. "Carrow." Hestia followed next.

"Crabbe. Daley. Davis. Goyle. Greengrass. Hanley. Lithgow. Malfoy. Nott. Parkinson. Perks. Shastri. Snape—" Meadow hurried forward and grabbed the four ingredients needed— "Zabini."

There were seventeen Slytherins total in Meadow's year, the smallest bunch of the four houses. Though, the first years were the smallest class of all Hogwarts due to the war that had been brewing, families were dwindling in numbers because of the fear of being killed.

Meadow immediately went to work, pouring in her starter potion. Her mind had slowed as she concentrated on her own potion. She dived into her pocket and grabbed the ear plugs that had been helping her so far, as if she didn't want to jinx herself, she put them in which blocked out all noise and she zoned into her own world.

Lethe River Water was added first, two drops. She heated her cauldron gently with her wand for twenty seconds as she stared at her watch, before she added two valerian sprigs. Three stirs clockwise with her ladle, wave her wand with the memory charm, and let rest for roughly sixty minutes or until yellow-green.

While she waited for the hour to pass, she continued on. Remembering each instruction clearly as if she was currently writing it out. Two measures of Standard Ingredient and four Mistletoe Berries-into the mortar to crush with the pestle into a medium-fine powder. Once she had completed that, she looked at her watch. Thirty more minutes until she was able to add the mixture into the potion. Meadow glanced up into her cauldron. It wasn't there yet; it was still a deep green in color. She took this time to double check the fineness of her powder.

Her father had been leering over the Slytherins, breathing down their anxious and sweaty necks before he looked over at Meadow's own potion. Carefully, she glanced up into his eyes. As if he knew what she had been thinking, her father glanced down at the powder. If Meadow hadn't been analyzing his face so intently, she would have missed the lightning fast twitch of a smile before his face returned to the usual frown and narrowed eyes. He moved on to Blaise, who was sitting on a stool, smirking as he waited for his potion to mature. Though, quickly, the smirk fell of Blaise's face and he stood in attention, a droplet of sweat forming on his dark forehead.

In order to effectively pass the time, Meadow started to clean up her station. She took a rag and wet it with the multipurpose cleaner that was stored in the dungeon and wiped down her table. Knowing what she needed for ingredients, Meadow didn't have any springs or berries left over, but instead brought the small pouch of Standard Ingredient back to the front table, along with the tiny bottle and dropper of the Lethe River Water.

Once she got back, she looked at her potion, it was now the correct yellow-green color needed in order to continue. She took a pinch of the dry, medium-fine mixture and let go of it into the cauldron. Meadow added a second pinch before she stirred her potion five times, anti-clockwise. She performed the memory charm for the second time over the potion to complete it.

Immediately, her father was over inspecting the potion. He took a vial out of his pocket and dipped it into the potion, filling the glass up with the orange liquid. He labeled it _Meadow Snape-First Year_ before he set it into the vial holder on her desk.

Meadow watched her father do the same thing with the rest of the Slytherins as they, too, finished up their potions. The Potions Master looked at the clock hanging on the wall by the door. "Time's up," he drawled.

The Slytherins stood and filed towards the door. Day two of exams were complete.

-.-.-

Wednesday seemed as though it was the most relaxing day of the week so far. The Charms written exam came first thing in the morning, and Professor Flitwick called each student up one by one, and take them into a separate room for the practical exam; while the rest of the students stayed in the large, stuffy room to continue on their written exam.

Flitwick's written exam was rather easy, one essay question one charm, twenty-five multiple choice, twenty true-or-false, and eleven matching questions. One of the multiple-choice questions was a complete give-away question.

_What is NOT true about the softening charm? A: Creates objects to be soft or rubbery. B: The incantation is "Spongify". C: The charm light is purple or orange. D: Professor McGonagall invented this charm. _

If someone got this question wrong, they'd be in deep trouble.

Other questions were simpler questions too.

_Diffindo does what? A: creates light. B: creates fire. C: Repairs objects. D: cuts objects._

_The incantation for the wand-extinguishing charm is? A: Nox. B: Wingardium Leviosa. C: Lumos. D: Incendio._

_A charm that prevented manual entry? A: Nox. B: Lumos. C: Tripudio. D: Colloportus._

The true or false were also straight forward.

_Alohomora was created before colloportus?_

_The Mending Charm is also referred to as the repairing charm?_

_Eldon Elsrickle takes credit for creating the unlocking charm?_

And so on. The eleven matching questions were easy as well. Match the incantation with the correct information, such as who invented it (if known), and what it does (such as the dancing charm). Though, the essay question might as well had been the easiest question of all. All the answers were in the exam in one place or another.

_Pick a charm (Levitation, Wand-Lighting, Wand-Extingishing, Fire-Making Spell, Softening, Unlocking, Locking Spell, Mending, Severing, Dancing, or Knockback Jinx) from __The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1__ by Miranda Goshawk and write about it. The effect of the charm, the incantation, the hand movement, who it was invented by (if applicable), and why you choose that charm. _

Meadow's essay came easily to her as she read the lengthy question.

_The Mending Charm. The incantation is "Reparo" with a backwards triangular "G" hand movement. This charm repairs broken objects to its original form. One of the limitations to this spell is mending wands—though this is due to the making of wands. It is incredibly useful, as it is a practical charm, and a common charm within the wizarding homes. "Reparo" was invented by Orabella Nuttley sometime before 1755. This charm is to be used on only objects and is not suitable to be performed on humans or animals to substitute healing charms or potions. _

_I picked this charm to write on because of it's practical uses. _Meadow pondered for a second as she wrote the last sentence. She might as well be truthful. _I find this charm to be interesting due to its repairing abilities but not healing abilities._

Why was that? She thought vaguely, however, she dismissed the question rather quickly. She should have asked during that lesson. Besides, it was now her turn to perform the practical exam, Professor Flitwick was standing in front of her with a concerned look upon his face. Meadow gathered up her exam and brought it with her. The small Professor led her to the back room that was smaller, but still large. Once the door was shut behind them, she pulled out her ear plugs.

"Sorry, Professor," she said, her cheeks warm. Meadow showed him the ear plugs.

"Ah, quite fine, Miss Snape," he said cheerfully. He beckoned her to the desk where an oversized pineapple sat. "Please make the pineapple tap dance across the desk."

Meadow raised her wand, flicking her wrist in the hand movement and said, very firmly, as she envisioned what she wanted it to do, _"Tripudio!"_ She pointed her wand at the pineapple.

It flipped over, spikey leaved top and tap danced silently across the desk.

"Fantastic!" Professor Flitwick squeaked with a smile as he watched the oversized pineapple. "Are you finished with your exam?" He questioned as he looked at the paper clutched in her left hand.

"Yes, Sir," she said and handed it to him.

"Excellent, Snape," he took the exam. He gestured towards a second door that Meadow hadn't noticed before.

She went out of it and found herself in the corridor adjacent to the one that leads into the large, stuffy classroom. Meadow wished she could take the time to relax, but she couldn't, Astronomy was that night at ten o'clock. So, she headed down to the dungeons, into the Slytherin common room, and up the stairs into her dormitory.

The blonde pulled out her astronomy notes, reviewing what they learned during the year, and put the ear plugs back in; she didn't want to be bothered. Meadow was so immerged in her notes she didn't hear the lunch bell. But by dinner she was starving and Daphne had found her with ink stains over her hands, face, and neck.

Daphne tried to hide a laugh, but dragged Meadow upstairs into the communal toilets of the Slytherin girls to get washed off.

"How do you feel about Charms today?" Meadow asked Daphne as she splashed water on her face and rubbed at the ink.

Her friend shrugged. "I don't feel bad about it, honestly, that was probably the only exams I'm going to breeze through as fast as I did—Flitwick didn't really challenge us in any of the questions."

"Well, now we have astronomy to worry about," Meadow replied.

"That's not too bad, it's not like we have to know the meaning of everything. First year is going to be so boring compared to the rest of the years," Daphne replied with a wave of her hand.

Meadow grabbed another towel and rubbed her face and hands dry. "How's Theodore doing?"

"Oh, Theo's fine," Daphne said in the same unconcerned voice. "Honestly, he just needs to get over the fact that it's an exam and realize he knows what he's doing."

Meadow fell silent as the two walked down the stairs and into the common room. "I'm not sure that's the best way to tell him that," she said finally.

Daphne rolled her eyes, "I haven't told him that." But Meadow remembered Daphne's words from earlier that week to him, _"Just think about Magical Theory. That's all you need to know for this hour. And afterward, during break, then you can freak out some more."_

It wasn't that Daphne was wrong in saying that, but it was how it was worded and her tone of voice that didn't sit well with Meadow. But in fear of making Daphne mad at her, Meadow didn't say anything.

The two joined the rest of the Slytherins at dinner, before going back down into the common room. Meadow decided to take a break from reviewing her Astronomy work and grab a quick nap. Both the common room and dormitory was quiet, though Gemma Farley the Prefect that lead the first years from the Sorting Ceremony to the Slytherin Common Room that first night, had everyone on edge. She was known to yell at people for walking too loud though the room. But Gemma was in her O.W.L. year, where exams really mattered.

Meadow tiptoed upstairs and laid down in her bed. Bee jumped up and curled up next to her. She laid, petting the grown kitten for a long time before she finally drifted off into a deep nap.

-.-.-

Meadow woke with a start; her watch was vibrating. She looked at the time, nine o'clock. Meadow pulled the curtains back and looked around the room. Daphne and Theodore sat on Daphne's bed looking over notes.

"Bloody hell!" Meadow coughed as she caught sight of Theodore. "I didn't know boys were allowed in here?"

Theodore jolted so violently at the sound of Meadow's voice, his wand, that was stuffed in his robe pocket, set off red sparks. "Blimey!" He exclaimed and looked at Meadow.

She had marks on her face, arms, and legs from where she fell asleep with the blankets twisted around her. "Have a good nap?" Daphne asked with a snicker, taking in the indents on Meadow.

Meadow looked down at her right arm, as she still had the quidditch sleeve covering her left, it was full of blanket wrinkles. She snorted, "I guess so. Are you two still going over Astronomy? It's in an hour," Meadow kicked off her blankets, smoothed them back down, and grabbed her favorite pair of boots.

"Theo wanted to study down until the last second. But I think we both should have gotten some sleep," Daphne said narrowing her eyes at the boy.

"I just want to be sure that I remember everything," Theodore responded. "There's nothing wrong with wanting to be prepared."

"And you two decided to study while I was right next to you, asleep?" Meadow asked stunned.

"You were basically like the living dead," Daphne laughed, "The amount of racket people have been making and you've just slept right through it."

"Again, how did Theodore get up here? I thought we weren't allowed to go into the boys dormitory and the boys weren't allowed in the girls dormitory?"

Daphne and Theodore shrugged. "Clearly, Salazar Slytherin seemed to trust us Slytherins," Daphne replied. "I heard that the Gryffindors' girls dormitory stairs turn into a slide, baring any boy from the girls."

"And that Hufflepuff has vinegar as a repellant for the boys, and that they get barred from entering," Theodore added. "Wouldn't that stink? Getting vinegar thrown at you."

"Literally," Meadow nodded, she looked at her watch again. "C'mon, I bet everyone's waiting for us."

The three joined the rest of the fourteen Slytherin first-years and Professor Snape escorted the group up to the Astronomy tower. Though it wasn't the last time Meadow had been up here, it certainly was the most memorable and guilt still ate at Meadow's stomach as she remembered that night, she and Harry brought Norbert the baby dragon up to the top for Charlie Weasley's friends to transport Norbert to Romania.

The sky was clear, the air was still warm, and the stars were lighting up the Hogwarts grounds dimly. Meadow searched for the moon, but she noticed that Professor McGonagall was dropping off the Gryffindors, including Shane, as Professors Flitwick and Sprout gathered their Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs up before leading them down the circled stairs, away from the tower. Similar to when the first years brewed the Forgetfulness Potion, this exam was done in groups.

"Right then," Professor Sinistra said firmly and passed out thirty-seven packets. "Use the sky to your advantage. Begin."

Wasting no time to start, Meadow shoved the ear plugs into her ears and flipped the exam to the back. _Name the planets, a fact of them, and at least five moons (if applicable)._

_Mercury, half scorching hot, half freezing cold, no moons. Venus, thick atmospheric gas, no moons. Earth, only planet applicable for life, one moon called "Moon", actual name: Selene. Mars, "the red planet", two moons: Phobos and Deimos. Jupiter, fastest spinning planet, has 58 confirmed moons, Amalthea, Callisto, Europa, Ganymede, Io, and Kale. _

Meadow listed off the first moons that came to her mind before she realized that she listed six instead of five. She crossed out Io, though it was readable, and then looking back at the question, Meadow realized that it asked for at least five moons, meaning if she had more, it didn't matter. Meadow shook her head; she really needed to read the question and process it before she let her mind race off full speed ahead. She tried to not let this slip up frustrate her; alas, it did and Meadow continued to make a few mistakes along the way.

_Saturn: a gas planet with the largest rings, 62 confirmed moons, Mimas, Encellaadus, Tethys, Titan, and Rhea. _

She spelt Enceladus incorrectly and didn't realize her mistake.

_Uranus: "ice giant", five moons: Miranda, Ariel, Ariel, Titania, and Oberon._ She didn't notice that she wrote Ariel twice and left out Umbriel. _Neptune: Second largest gravity force planet, 14 moons: Thalassa, Naiad, Hippocamp, Sao, and Despina. Pluto: One-third water, fife moons: Charon, Nix, Hydra, Styx, and Keberos. _

_Chart five stars and five constellations that are currently visible tonight. _

_Five Stars: Vega, Riget, Sirius, Achernar, Canopus. _Meadow wrote. _Five Constellations: Cassiopeia, Virgo, Ursa, Cygnus, Carina. _

Meadow looked back up at the night sky before she realized she wrote down a few of the wrong stars and at least one of the incorrect constellations that jumped out at her now. Wanting to be completely crystal clear and correct, Meadow crossed out stars: Vega, Riget, and Acherna, and constellation Ursa. She hunted down each constellation again and promised herself she knew the stars that made up each one. Cassiopeia had a star called _Caph. _Virgo's brightest star is _Spica._ Sirius's star system is the _Canis Major _or sometimes known as the Dog Star, but Meadow didn't include that random fact that popped into her head. And the Carina constellation had _Canopus,_ the second brightest star in the sky, after Sirius of course. As she charted the constellations, she named along with the stars included, Meadow took her time, taking the majority of the hour and being the last student on the tower. Everyone else had been escorted back to their dormitories in groups with Professors Snape and McGonagall depending on house.

Suddenly, Professor Sinistra was waving her hand in front of Meadow's face and she took out her ear plugs. "Time is up," she said both firm and caring.

Meadow handed over her paper, and Professor Sinistra gathered up the eighty first year exams and escorted Meadow to her office. The professor dropped off the exams and brought Meadow all the way down to the dungeons. Obviously, all the professors knew where the house common rooms were, however, most decided to not overstep the Head of House's duties to his or her House. Sinistra waited from down the corridor to be sure Meadow went into her common room before disappearing from sight. And Meadow, exhausted, turned in for the night.

-.-.-

Thursday was a herbology day. Where in the morning, the written exam involved writing short essays on each magical plant with magical properties they learned this year. These included: Dittany, Devil's Snare, Venomous Tentacula, Spiky Bush, Bouncing Bulbs, Puffapod, Moly, Asphodel, Nettle, Wormwood, Mandrake Root, and Aconite—none of which the first years were allowed to touch except for Dittany, Bouncing Bulb, Nettle, and Wormwood. However, they did learn some of the basics for everything else. Well, sort of, Professor Sprout had mentioned the Mandrake Root very quickly and Meadow was curious, so she did some research on it. She wasn't sure if she were to include it or not, but she did anyway. Besides, there were a lot of other plants that Sprout had taught them about, including Daisies, Mistletoe, Thyme, Lilies, Rosemary, etc. But those were all basic plants and herbs that were so common even Muggles liked them—so they weren't considered magical plants despite the magical properties. That afternoon, the first years were called one-by-one into Greenhouse One to name whatever plants Professor Sprout had set up for them on one of the work stations.

Despite Meadow not having a knack for repotting, knowing when to water or not water, and realizing when a plant needed a trim down; she did, however, know how to recognize each plant based on her potions skills. And Meadow used that to her advantage, each plant that Professor Sprout had, tended to have a use in potions. She named off each plant hesitantly, and with each one named, she grew more and more confident in her ability to recognize each plant.

-.-.-

With ten exams done, there were only three more to go on Friday. Transfiguration was set up like Charms, written exams were passed out and by alphabetical order, Professor McGonagall called the students up and into the side room to perform the transfiguration of a mouse into a snuff box. Points were given for how pretty the snuffbox was, but taken away if it had whiskers. Meadow turned her white mouse into a small, circular gold container that had small vines and leaves all around the edges. On the sides, there was a delicate diagonal pattern that was outlined in a small border and between any two "boxes" she had imagined a _Lilium canadense_ plant with large open bell flowers. Professor McGonagall gave eight points to Slytherin in approval of the box and swept it out of sight as she sent Meadow back into the large stuffy classroom to finish up the written portion of the exam.

The written exam for Transfiguration was one of the most difficult exams of the year. Questions one through twenty-six all involved the translation of the English Alphabet into the Transfiguration Alphabet. And questions twenty-seven through forty were all fill in the blank, apart from one question: _How many Principles are there for Principal Exceptions to Gamp's Law? A) Seven. B) Two. C) Five. D) Eleven. _

Despite the tricky questions, Meadow made her way through and was able to enjoy lunch before their final exam started. History of Magic was an hour-long exam that they were required to answer questions about batty old wizards who'd invented self-stirring cauldrons and nothing else that they had covered over the year. Meadow couldn't help but feel free and lighter once she read through the questions and at last, handed in that final exam and skipped out of the classroom.

Since Meadow had spent a great deal of time with Daphne and Theodore the past few weeks, she went off to catch up with the Gryffindors. Shane, Harry, Hermione and Ron were all sitting under a tree by the Black Lake.

"I needn't have learned about the 1637 Werewolf Code of Conduct or the uprising of Elfric the Eager," Hermione was saying to the three boys, but none of them were really paying attention to her.

They were all watching the Weasley twins and Lee Jordan were tickling the tentacles of the giant squid, which was basking in the warm shallows. Meadow smiled faintly as she caught sight of the twins, but then, remembering the last encounter she had with George, her face grew hot with embarrassment. Instead of getting herself all worked up again, Meadow sat down next to Shane and leaned on him. As she looked out over the lake, relief washed over her. Exams were complete.

-.-.-


	23. 23 Just A Bit of Music

Miracle

_They were all watching the Weasley twins and Lee Jordan were tickling the tentacles of the giant squid, which was basking in the warm shallows. Meadow smiled faintly as she caught sight of the twins, but then, remembering the last encounter she had with George, her face grew hot with embarrassment. Instead of getting herself all worked up again, Meadow sat down next to Shane and leaned on him. As she looked out over the lake, relief washed over her. Exams were complete. _

Chapter 23: Just A Bit of Music

"No more studying," Ron sighed happily, stretching out on the grass. "You could look more cheerful, Harry, we've got a week before we find out how badly we've done, there's no need to worry yet."

Meadow rolled her head from Shane's shoulder to look at Harry, he was rubbing his forehead roughly. She had her right arm behind Shane's back and under his left arm, propping her up with her hand on the grass. Shane had his left arm over Meadow's and hand stationed on the ground to lean back into the shadows as his legs stretched out on the grass and into the sun.

"I wish I knew what this _means!_" Harry burst out angrily. "My scar keeps hurting—it's happened before, but never as often as this."

And the wave of relief that had engulfed Meadow just a moment previously was gone. During the chaos of exams, she was able to forget all about that night in the Forbidden Forest. The Philosopher's stone was in danger.

"Go to Madam Pomfrey," Hermione suggested with a shrug, unsure of what to really think.

"I'm not ill," Harry replied. "I think it's a warning. . . it means danger's coming. . ."

Shane shifted uncomfortably under Meadow's head as she turned again to look at Harry. Ron couldn't bother getting worked up, it was too hot.

"Harry, relax, Hermione's right, the Stone's safe as long as Dumbledore's around. Anyway, we've never had any proof Snape found out how to get past Fluffy. He nearly had his leg ripped off once, he's not going to try it again in a hurry. And Neville will play Quidditch for England before Hagrid lets Dumbledore down." Ron wiggled into the grass to get more comfortable.

Meadow watched Harry nod in the corner of her eye; though her main focus was still on the two gingers and Lee tickling the giant squid. An owl fluttering toward the school across the bright blue sky grab Meadow's attention from the older students. She couldn't help but think about the Stone now that her attention was off watching George. Surely, the Stone was perfectly safe. Besides, there must have been other protections for it apart from Fluffy and whatever Quirrell had thought up of. Even if Quirrell was the one trying to steal it, Meadow was sure that the other Professors would have been involved.

Harry suddenly jumped to his feet and Meadow's head jerked off of Shane's shoulder.

"Where're you going?" Shane asked anxiously.

"I've just thought of something," Harry said and Meadow watched the color drain out of his face. "We've got to go and see Hagrid."

Harry dashed off across the grounds, leaving the four under the tree all looking at each other bewildered. Then, they all jumped to their feet and tore after him.

"Why?" Hermione asked, panting as they caught up to Harry.

"Don't you think it's a bit odd, that what Hagrid wants more than anything else is a dragon, and a stranger turns up who just happens to have an egg in his pocket?" Harry said furiously, the words tumbling out as quick as Hermione's normal pace. "How many people wander around with dragon eggs if it's against wizard law? Lucky, they found Hagrid, don't you think? Why didn't I see it before?"

"What are you talking about?" Ron asked as they scrambled up the grassy slope and headed toward the forest.

Harry ignored him, instead, bursting into a sprint as soon as Hagrid's hut came into view. Meadow, Shane, Hermione, and Ron all broke out into a run after Harry.

Hagrid was sitting in an armchair outside his house; his trousers and sleeves were rolled up, and he was shelling peas into a large bowl.

Meadow couldn't stand the heat and pulled off her robe, happy to see that Shane and Ron did as well while Hagrid said, "Hullo! Finished yer exams? Got time fer a drink?"

"Yes, please," Ron said, panting as he caught his breath.

Meadow caught Shane staring at her arm and she looked down, realizing that the quidditch sleeve was no longer hidden from view under her long layers of winter clothes. He looked away quickly and Meadow folded her robe over her arm in attempt to hide it.

"No, sorry. We're in a hurry, Hagrid. But I've got to ask you something. You know that night you won Norbert?" Harry was saying during the exchange between Meadow and Shane. "What did the stranger you were playing cards with look like?"

"Dunno," Hagrid replied with a shrug, "he wouldn' take his cloak off."

And then it dawned on Meadow, just as it had with Harry. It was no accident that a stranger with a dragon's egg met Hagrid in that pub that night.

Hagrid must have seen the stunned looks on everyone's faces as he raised his eyebrows and casually added, "It's not that unusal, yeh get a lot o' funny folk in the Hog's Head—tha's the pub down in the village. Mighta bin a dragon dealer, mightn' he? I never saw his face, he kept his hood up."

Harry sank down next to the bowl of peas, his face was hidden from Hagrid, but it wasn't from Meadow. The look of astonishment and horror was written all over his face. "What did you talk to him about, Hagrid? Did you mention Hogwarts at all?"

"Mighta come up," Hagrid said, frowning as he tried to remember. "Yeah. . . he asked what I did, an' I told him I was gamekeeper here. . . he asked a bit about the sorta creatures I look after. . . so I told him. . an' I said what I'd always really wanted was a dragon. . . an' then. . . I can' remember too well, 'cause he kept buyin' me drinks. . . Let's see. . . yeah, then he said he had the dragon egg an' we could play cards fer it if I wanted. . . but he had ter be sure I could handle it, he didn' want it ter go ter any old home. . . So I told him, after Fluffy, a dragon would be easy. . ."

"Ahd did he—did he seem interested in Fluffy?" Harry asked, his voice wavering the slighted note.

"Well – yeah – how many three-headed dogs d'yeh meet even around Hogwarts? So I told him, Fluffy's a piece o' cake if yeh know how to calm him down, jus' play him a bit o' music an' he'll go straight off ter sleep—"

Hagrid looked horrified.

"I shouldn'ta told yeh that! Forget I said it! Hey—where're yeh goin'?" He yelled after them as the five dashed off toward the castle.

No one spoke a word to each other until they came to a halt in the entrance hall, which seemed very cold and gloomy after the sunny and hot grounds. Meadow, Shane, and Ron all pulled on their robes in the cool air.

"We've got to go to Dumbledore," Harry said finally once they all caught they're breath. "Hagrid told that stranger how to get past Fluffy, and it was either Snape or Voldemort—"

"Not my father," Meadow muttered under her breath, she still held out hope that he wouldn't be behind this, despite his horrible actions towards the Gryffindors this year.

Harry cast her a frown but plowed through, "—under that cloak—it must've been easy, once he'd got Hagrid drunk. I just hope Dumbledore believes us. Firenze might back us up if Bane doesn't stop him. Where's Dumbledore's office?"

"Er—" they looked around, as if hoping to see a sign pointing them in the right direction. They had never been told where Dumbledore lived, nor did they know anyone who had been sent to see him.

"We'll just have to—" Harry began, but a voice rang out across the hall.

"What are you five doing inside?"

Professor McGonagall strode toward them, carrying a large pile of books.

"We want to see Professor Dumbledore," Hermione said bravely, as her chin lifted up higher, as if it would make her seem more serious or bigger.

"See Professor Dumbledore?" McGonagall repeated, the words rolled off her tongue as if this were a very fishy thing to want to do. "Why?"

Meadow and Shane's eyes met anxiously. Normally Meadow had no problem talking with teachers, but her mouth seemed to dry up at the thought of telling Professor McGonagall that they knew of the Philosopher's Stone.

"It's sort of a secret," Harry said and Professor McGonagall's nostrils flared.

"Professor Dumbledore left ten minutes ago," she said rather coldly toward them as she eyed them down her narrow nose. "He received an urgent owl from the Ministry of Magic and flew off for London at once."

"He's _gone?_" Panic rose in Harry's voice as he didn't reem to think to cover it. "_Now?"_

McGonagall's eyes flashed in annoyance. "Professor Dumbledore is a very great wizard, Potter, he has many demands on his time—"

"But this is important," Harry pleaded with her.

"Something you have to say is more important than the Ministry of Magic, Potter?" McGonagall said sharply.

Harry must have lost his temper or decided to throw any and all caution to the wind with the next sentence that spewed from his lips, "Look, Professor—it's about the Philosopher's Stone—"

Whatever Professor McGonagall had expected to hear, it wasn't that. The books she was carrying dropped from her arms as she tripped slightly; she didn't pick them up and looked at the five with a shaken expression.

"How do you know-?" McGonagall spluttered, looking at each one of them.

"Professor, I think—I _know—_that Sn—that someone's going to try and steal the Stone. I've got to talk to Professor Dumbledore," Harry said, ignoring her question.

The Gryffindor Head of House eyed Harry with a mixture of shock and suspicion.

"Professor Dumbledore will be back tomorrow," she said finally. "I don't know how you found out about the Stone, but rest assured, no one can possibly steal it, it's too well protected."

"But Professor—"

"Potter, I know what I'm talking about," she said shortly as she bent down to gather up the fallen books. "I suggest you all go back outside and enjoy the sunshine."

But they didn't. Instead, they watched Professor McGonagall strode down the hall and disappear from sight after giving them one final, stern look.

"It's tonight," Harry said once McGonagall was out of ear shot. "Snape's going through the trapdoor tonight. He's found out everything he needs, and now he's got Dumbledore out of the way. He sent that note, I bet the Ministry of Magic will get a real shock when Dumbledore turns up."

"But what can we—" Ron started but Hermione gasped.

Meadow looked up from her feet as Harry and Ron wheeled around to see—

Her father. He stood, towering over them, looking down his large hook nose at them with suspicious eyes.

Good afternoon," he drawled smoothly.

They stared at him and Meadow immediately lowered her eyes again.

"You shouldn't be inside on a day like this," the Potions Master continued, an odd, twisted smile upon his face, as if he just entered a candy shop and was told he can get anything he'd like.

"We were—" Harry began, but Meadow's father cut him off.

"You want to be more careful. Hanging around like this, people will think you're up to something. And Gryffindor really can't afford to lose any more points, can it?"

Meadow felt her face burn and the eldest Snape caught sight of her. "Miss Snape, why are you not with your housemates?"

"Daphne and Theodore wanted some time alone," Meadow responded automatically.

"And Mr. Malfoy?" Her father raised an eyebrow at her.

Meadow shrugged, "I'd rather spend time with Chimaera," and as an afterthought added, "Or a Flobberworm."

A short, angry breath escaped her father's nose and he rounded back on the Gryffindors. "Be warned, Potter—any more nighttime wanderings and I will personally make sure you are expelled. Good day to you."

Severus strode off in the direction of the staffroom and Ron let out a burst of laughter he had been containing over Meadow's comment. A Chimaera was a notoriously violet magical beast that was a hybrid of three creatures: the head of a lion, the body of a goat (though as large as a lion's body), and the tail of a dragon. There was a rumor that a Chimaera had escaped from Professor Kettleburn's care and roamed the castle four or five years ago now and was never seen again once it managed to find the Forbidden Forest. And a Flobberworm, well, it did as much as its name, it was a kind of worm that flobbered around, one of the most boring magical creatures anyone could care for.

Harry cast Ron a disgruntled look and the five headed off down the stone steps out to the grounds again.

"Right, here's what we've got to do," he whispered urgently. "We got to both keep an eye on Snape—wait outside the staff room and follow him if he leaves it. Hermione, Shane, you'd best do that."

"Why me?"

Came both Hermione's and Shane's voices.

"It's obvious," Ron said. "Hermione, you can pretend to be waiting for Professor Flitwick, you know." He put on a high voice, " 'Oh, Professor Flitwick, I'm so worried, I think I got question fourteen _b_ wrong. . .'"

"There was no question fourteen b," Meadow said at the same time Hermione replied:

"Oh, shut up," the Gryffindor girl snapped.

"What about me?" Shane asked.

"Easy, you're there for moral support," Meadow said plainly.

"Moral support?" Shane gasped. "Is that all I'm good for?"

"Of course not," Hermione said. "But it would be nice for you to join me," she paled. "I don't want to think about waiting alone."

Harry looked between Meadow and Ron, "Right then, we'd better stay outside the third-floor corridor."

The two groups split off from each other and no sooner had the three arrived to the landing outside the door separating Fluffy from the rest of the school than Professor McGonagall showing turned up. This time, she lost her temper.

"I suppose you think you're harder to get past than a pack of enchantments!" She stormed. "Enough of this nonsense! If I hear you've come anywhere near here again, I'll take another fifty points from Gryffindor! Yes, Weasley, from my own house!" McGonagall snapped at Ron's gapping face before she rounded on Meadow. "I would have thought _you_ of all students would have more trust with the staff members here!"

Tails between their legs, Meadow, Harry, and Ron went up to the empty classroom close by the Gryffindor Common Room they had found earlier in the school year. Whenever the group wasn't in the library together, this was the spot they found worked whenever Meadow was with them.

"At least Hermione and Shane are still on Snape's trail," Harry said, but the door opened to the classroom and the two tumbled in together.

"I'm sorry, Harry!" Hermione wailed, her eyes full of tears. "Snape came out and asked what we were doing, so I said we were waiting for Flitwick and Snape went to get him, I don't know where Snape went after that." The girl barely took a breath as she talked so fast about it all.

Meadow caught sight of Shane's pale face, red, raised splotches had formed on it—like he ate something he was allergic to. She went over to him and brushed his brown, shaggy hair out of his eyes as she took a closer look. Maybe it was related to his stress levels. Or maybe he did eat something he was allergic to.

"Well, that's it then, isn't it?" Harry said.

Meadow spun around to look at him; she was not the only one who had her eyes on The-Boy-Who-Lived. He was pale and his green eyes with glittering madly, as if he was up to something. "I'm going out tonight and I'm going to try and get the Stone first," he said finally, a defiant look in his eyes.

"You're barking!" Ron said.

"You can't!" Hermione added. "After what McGonagall and Snape have said? You'll be expelled!"

"SO WHAT?" Harry roared at them.

Meadow automatically flinched back, in response, Shane wrapped a protective arm around her.

"Don't you understand?" Harry went on, ignoring their reactions, "If Snape gets hold of the Stone, Voldemort's coming back! Haven't you heard what it was like when he was trying to take over?" Of course they had, both Meadow and Shane were directly affected. "There won't be any Hogwarts to get expelled from! He'll flatten it, or turn it into a school for the Dark Arts! Losing points doesn't matter anymore, can't you see? D'you think he'll leave you and your families alone if Gryffindor wins the house cup? If I get caught before I can get to the Stone, well, I'll have to go back to the Dursley's and wait for Voldemort to find me there, it's only dying a bit later than I would have, because I'm never going over to the Dark Side! I'm going through that trapdoor tonight and nothing you four say is going to stop me! Voldemort killed my parents, remember?"

Harry glared at all of them.

"You're right, Harry," Hermione said in a small voice.

"I'll use the invisibility cloak," Harry replied without a second beat for anyone else to reply. "It's just lucky I got it back."

"But will it cover all four of us?" Ron asked.

"All—all four of us?" Harry looked around astonished.

"Oh, come off it, you don't think we'd let you go alone?"

"Of course not," Hermione said briskly. "How do you think you'd get to the Stone without us? I'd better go and look through my books, there might be something useful. . ."

"I'm coming too," Meadow stepped forward and all eyes snapped to her. "Besides, if you four are going. I am too."

"There's no way five people would fit under the invisibility cloak," Harry gapped.

"I'm not planning on needing to be under it," Meadow replied. "Don't give me that look, Mione," she said to the other girl. "I don't need you four going out of your way to the dungeons. I have every right to be allowed to go anyway. If it's my father down there trying to steal the stone—I will be the one to confront him." She said, so menacingly her eyes darkened to look as if tiny storms were brewing in them.

"But if we get caught, you'd all be expelled, too," Harry said looking around at them.

"Not if I can help it," Hermione said grimly. "Flitwick told me in secret that I got a hundred and twelve percent on his exam. They're not throwing me out after that."

-.-.-

With the plan in place, Meadow could be found in her father's privet storeroom. She was looking for a specific potion. With both Hagrid and McGonagall confirming that there were other enchantments apart from Fluffy, Meadow knew that there would be something to deal with Potions. As Hagrid said "Look, Snape helped _protect_ the Stone. He's not about to steal it." There was something fishing going on and she was going to find out what—with or without the Gryffindor's help. Finally, Meadow found bottle she was looking for. She opened it, poured the smallest bit into the vial she swiped, and stoppered them both up.

On her way out of the storeroom, she noticed another potion that could come in handy. She pocketed both potions and slipped out of the closet. Closing and locking the door before she slipped out into the corridor.

-.-.-

After dinner, Meadow paced in her room, Bee watching her intently. Meadow set her watch to alarm her at eleven o'clock, so far, it was only nine. She wasn't sure where the rest of the girls were, but she figured Tracey was in the other girls' room with Pansy and Millicent. Hestia and Flora were probably somewhere together. And Daphne was more than likely with Theodore, Bhu, and Gabriel in the common room. Since exams were over, it seemed that everyone was staying up late tonight to celebrate.

Around ten forty-five, Daphne appeared, looking happy and tired. She looked around the room and saw Meadow sitting on her bed, holding a candle and staring at the flame. By this time, Tracey and Hestia had come in and pulled the curtains around them—both were breathing heavily in sleep.

"There you are," Daphne said quietly as she took a seat next to her smaller friend. "Theo, Gabe, Bhu, and I were wondering where you were. How come you didn't join us?"

Her voice was soft, and Meadow's stomach started to turn with guilt. "I'm sorry," Meadow replied looking into her friend's blue eyes. "I—I'm not ready for Hogwarts to be over," she lied, though it wasn't really a lie.

Daphne let out a small breathy chuckle, "Me neither. You'll have to come visit me. Merlin knows I'll be stuck with my little sister all the time hounding me for details about Hogwarts."

Meadow felt a tickle in the back of her throat as Daphne talked about the summer. And in that moment, Meadow realized, she wasn't ready for Hogwarts to have come to an end for the year. It was the most at home she's ever felt. Especially now that she was with people who were just like her—magical. And then, she remembered what she and the Gryffindors were going to do tonight. Meadow wasn't ready to die. But she was willing to risk her life to keep her friends safe.

"I will," Meadow replied finally, her voice horse. She was sure Daphne lived in some grand home, much grander than hers.

Daphne gave her a smile, "That's the ticket. Besides, we'll be coming off a win for the house cup, and possibly the Quidditch cup too, depending on the outcome of Gryffindor verses Ravenclaw tomorrow."

Meadow's stomach turned harshly, if she were caught tonight, she'd lose the lead for Slytherin and Ravenclaw would win. "Yeah," she tried to keep her voice even. "Well, we best get to bed. . . don't want to miss the match tomorrow." Meadow's watch started to vibrate saying it was eleven o'clock and she only hoped that Daphne would go to bed and fall asleep fast.

Daphne got up, dressed in her nightgown, and pulled the curtains around her. Meadow anxiously gnawed on the inside of her lip, wondering what sort of excuse she could come up with for slipping out of the dormitory so late at night.

Meadow pretended to head to bed, closing her curtains and no sooner, Daphne's breath was deep and long, showing Meadow that she was asleep at last. Meadow glanced at her watch, eleven-fifteen. As quickly as she could, without making much noise, Meadow stuffed her bed with her pillow to hopefully put the illusion that she was still in bed. She adjusted the green curtains and giving one last look at Bee, she slipped out of the room.

By a marvelous chance, the common room was deserted. Meadow's heart gave a leap of excitement, and she exited through the wall, entering the corridor. Using the shadows and pulling up her hood to cover her blonde hair, Meadow slowly made her way up the castle and away from the dungeons. In her nervous state, every statue's shadow looked like Filch, every distant breath of wind sounded like Peeves swooping down on her, and every creak of the castle had Meadow jump behind knights, statues, and gargoyles.

Meadow was able to make her way up to the Entrance Hall without meeting anyone, something out of the corner of her eye caught her attention and she ducked behind the massive house point hourglasses. Clasping a hand around her mouth, she breathed as slowly and silently as possible. Filch was on the prowl. It seemed like hours as Meadow stood stone still, her eyes fixed on Filch as he held his lantern up in front of him, yellow eyes darting everywhere, before he moved on.

She let out the breath she was holding and sprinted through the hall and up the first set of stairs to the first floor when she heard:

"Should call Filch, I should, if something's a-creeping around unseen."

Peeves's wicked and crackly voice said with delight oozing from it.

Silence.

"Peeves," a different voice said, rough and low, "the Bloody Baron has his own reasons for being invisible."

Meadow inched up the next set of stairs little by little and watched as Peeves nearly dropped out of the air.

"So sorry, your bloodiness, Mr. Baron, sir," Peeves said greasily. "My mistake, my mistake—I didn't see you—of course I didn't, you're invisible—forgive old Peevsie his little joke, sir." Peeves's voice was a mixture of panic and schmoozing.

"I have business here, Peeves. Stay away from this place tonight," the voice croaked back. Meadow was now on the second floor; she didn't dare move up another staircase with Peeves and the Bloody Baron one flight ahead of her. Instead, she ducked into the shadows of the base of the second-floor landing. Instead of a door, it was an archway, so despite the off chance that a teacher, Filch, or Mrs. Norris would be down the corridor, Meadow stepped behind the stone arch and peaked her head out.

"I will, sir, I most certainly will," Peeves replied, rising up in the air again. "Hope your business goes well, Baron, I'll not bother you." He bounced away, upstairs and out of sight.

Meadow let out another breath, though, she was worried about the invisible Bloody Baron, she at least was a Slytherin and the Baron had a soft spot with Slytherins. She stepped out of the second-floor landing and slinked up the last flight of stairs when she heard:

"_Brilliant, _Harry!" a soft whisper said from thin-air, but the castle was so quiet Meadow heard. Ron.

"Look—there's Meadow," another whisper said, this one was clearly Shane.

"Don't move so fast!" Hermione's high-pitched voice said.

"Shh—we're nearly there," Harry replied.

Meadow glanced around, if anyone was on the Grand Staircase, the Gryffindors would be heard. And Meadow would be the one getting caught. Silently, she urged them forward, though the landing of the third floor and—the third-floor forbidden corridor's door was slightly ajar.

"Well, there you are," Harry's voice whispered, and Meadow wasn't sure if it was at the door or her. "Snape's already got past Fluffy."

Seeing the open door somehow seemed to impress upon all five of them what was facing them.

"If you want to go back, I won't blame you," Harry's voice said to the left of Meadow, "You can take the cloak, I won't need it now."

"Don't be stupid," Ron said.

"We're coming," Hermione added.

"All of us," Meadow said defiantly, looking around trying to spot the invisible group.

Harry pulled off the cloak. He, Shane, Hermione, and Ron all looked worried as they stared at the door. And then—Harry pushed it open. Harry had disregarded the cloak and dropped it on the floor; without anyone noticing, Meadow grabbed it and tucked it into her shirt under her robes. It could possibly be useful later on, especially if they needed to sneak around.

They stepped inside and were met with low, rumbling growls from three heads. All of the dog's noses sniffed madly in their direction before three pairs of eyes focused on the group.

"What's that at its feet?" Hermione whispered, pointing to the instrument.

"Looks like a harp," Ron said. "Snape must have left it there."

"It must wake up the moment you stop playing," Harry said. "Well, here it goes. . ." He put a makeshift, wooden flute up to his lips and blew. It wasn't really a tune, in fact, Meadow winced at the horrible sound, but Fluffy's eyes began to droop at it. Harry hardly drew breath for the first minute, and soon, Fluffy's growls ceased—he tottered on its paws and fell into a lazy sit, before he slumped to the ground, fast asleep.

"Keep playing," Ron warned Harry as the group collectively grew closer to the trapdoor. "I think we'll be able to pull the door open," Ron said, peering over Fluffy's back. "Want to go first, Hermione?"

"No, I don't!" She squawked, appalled at the idea.

"All right," Ron gritted his teeth and stepped carefully over the dog's legs.

Meadow looked closer at Fluffy as Ron bent and pulled the ring of the trapdoor, which swung up and open. Fluffy was actually rather cute and she voiced that quietly to Shane, who's milk brown eyes opened wide in shock. Fluffy was just a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, that had a parent who was a hellhound demon dog with three heads. His fur was a bramble brown, it looked so soft that Meadow wanted to reach out and pet him. She resisted in fear of waking Fluffy back up and ripping her from limb to limb; though, with Fluffy sleeping, she could understand why Hagrid loved the creature.

"What can you see?" Hermione's voice asked anxiously.

"Nothing—Just black—there's no way of climbing down, we'll just have to drop," Ron replied, his whole head stuck in the opening of the trapdoor as he looked for anything that could be of use.

Harry, still playing the flute, waved to get anyone's attention and he pointed to himself.

"You want to go first? Are you sure?" Shane asked and Ron nearly fell through the trapdoor headfirst at the surprise of a voice.

"No, I—oh, Harry—" he grew red sheepishly.

"I'll take the flute," Shane said and Harry handed it to him. In the few seconds of silence, Fluffy growled and twitched, waking back up, but the moment Shane began to play, he fell back into the deep sleep.

Meadow's eyes locked onto Shane's as he played, asking him if he'd go through with jumping. Very slightly, he nodded. Harry had climbed over Fluffy already and was looking through the trapdoor. In that moment, Shane and Meadow climbed over Fluffy's legs as Harry lowered himself into the hole, hanging onto the floor by his fingertips. He said something to Ron.

"Right," Ron replied.

"See you in a minute, I hope. . ."

Meadow jerked in surprise, that was to be the last thing Harry said to them? _See you in a minute, I hope. . .?_ That did not boost Meadow's confidence over the whole ordeal. She was ready to face her father, if he was, in fact, down there, but the other enchantments made Meadow be on edge. There were at least five very deadly tasks ahead of them after Fluffy. Each one probably grew more difficult the further along the tasks one got. And Fluffy was no easy task.

FLUMP.

Harry's body hit something. "Oh Merlin. Oh Merlin," Meadow said running both hands through her hair. That FLUMP didn't sound good. It sounded as though—

"It's okay!" Harry's voice called up and a wave of relief hit Meadow like a frying pan. He was still alive. "It's a soft landing, you can jump!"

Ron wasted no time and basically dived in after Harry, possibly trying to prove that he was Harry's most loyal friend. . . or maybe not to waste anymore time.

FLUMP.

Ron landed. Hermione, who was closest, hesitated and Ron's voice carried up, "Come on, Hermione!"

FLUMP.

Shane was still playing when Hermione's voice carried up, shrieking, "_Lucky!_ Look at you both!" Shane nearly dropped the flute and Fluffy's growls began again.

"What the bloody hell?" Meadow asked and Shane shrugged, but his eyes were wide and wild as the two peered down into the dark abyss.

"Meadow, Shane hurry!" Hermione screamed. "And get up right away!"

Meadow jumped. Cold, damp air rushed through her clothes and her hair streamed behind her as she fell down, down, down—

-.-.-


	24. 24 Science of Probabilities

Miracle

Meadow jumped. Cold, damp air rushed through her clothes and her hair streamed behind her as she fell down, down, down—

Chapter 24: Science of Probabilities

FLUMP.

Meadow hit whatever soft-landing Harry had claimed it to be and she scrambled up immediately rushing towards Hermione, who was standing on a very small, damp edge that wasn't covered in the plant. "Shane, c'mon!" Meadow yelled. "It's not bad! Just get up right away!"

The distant music stopped. A loud bark echoed through the plant room, but Shane had already jumped. Quickly, he scrambled over to the edge, but a vine snatched his leg and multiple other, long creepers wrapped around his body tightly.

Without thinking, Meadow dove into the plant and started yanking on the tendrils that were squeezing Shane. "Stop moving!" Hermione's voice came, firm. "I know what this is—it's Devil's Snare!"

"Oh, I'm so glad we know what it's called, that's a great help," Ron snarled, leaning back, trying to stop the plant from curling around his neck.

Meadow now had one leg bound to the plant and her hand that was holding Shane's cheek, was stuck in place. Shane had vines wrapped around his neck and was started to struggle to take air into his lungs. His breath was rattling and Meadow's heart jumped. She wasn't worried about herself, but she didn't want Shane to suffer anymore.

"Shut up!" Hermione screamed, jerking Meadow's attention from Shane's terrified brown eyes. "I'm trying to remember how to kill it!"

"Hurry up, I can't breathe!" Harry gasped, yanking at the vines that had wrapped around his chest.

"Hermione, focus," Meadow said, her voice surprisingly even. "Devil's Snare loves the dark!"

"So light a fire!" Harry choked.

"Of course—but there's no wood!" Hermione cried, wringing her hands.

"HAVE YOU GONE MAD?" Ron bellowed at her. "ARE YOU A WITCH OR NOT?"

"Oh, right!" Hermione said and whipped out her wand, waved it, muttered something, and set a jet of the same bluebell flames she had used on Snape during the Quidditch match on the plant. In a matter of seconds, Meadow and Shane felt the plant loosen its grip as it cringed away from the light and warmth. Wriggling and flailing, it unraveled itself from their bodies, and they were able to pull free. Next to them, Ron and Harry were able to take deep breaths and stand. Meadow stumbled over to the wall, half carrying Shane who was trying to catch his breath. She, too, was breathing heavy and sweat trickled down her neck.

"Lucky you two pay attention in Herbology," Harry said as he tripped over the vines and joined them by the wall, wiping sweat off his face.

"Yeah, and lucky Harry didn't lose his head in a crisis—'there's no wood,' _honestly."_ Ron said, rudely pointing out that Hermione reverted back to her Muggle life that she had known her whole life until this year.

"I thought you were brilliant, Hermione," Shane choked out breathlessly to Hermione, as the five followed Harry down a stone passageway. His breath was short and ragged, as if he was fighting something.

Meadow grabbed his hand and stopped him. His face was so pale and his eyes were dilatated. "Shane," she said quietly. "Just relax. Take a deep breath in. . . you need to breath." Though her voice was still calm, Meadow's whole body was trembling inside as she fought to control her nerves.

"I can't—" Shane forced out. "I can't breathe—"

"You can," Meadow said, not bothering to look if the others stopped or not. "I need you to take a deep breath in, you can do it."

"I can't—I can't—" he repeated, tears rolled down his face. His eyes were wild, searching her face, as if he was trying to focus on her.

"Take a deep breath, Shane," Meadow repeated. She knew he struggled with anxiety, but she never witnessed whatever he was going through now.

Shane continued to struggle for a few minutes with getting his breath under control, as Meadow whispered to him to inhale and exhale while she massaged his hand. Though, she wasn't sure if it was for his benefit or hers to ground herself.

Once Shane gave Meadow a small nod, the two headed off to join Harry, Hermione, and Ron down the corridor. A soft rustling and clinking reached Meadow's ears when they got closer. She and Shane exchanged a look before they entered the room.

Harry, Hermione, and Ron were looking up to the air discussing what to do.

"Do you think they'll attack us if we cross the room?" Ron was saying.

"Probably, they don't look very vicious, but I suppose if they all swooped down at once. . ." Harry said slowly, staring at the bird-like creatures that Meadow caught sight of. "Well, there's no other choice. . . I'll run."

Harry took a deep breath, covered his face with his arms, and sprinted across the room. Meadow watched, slightly amused as Harry looked ridiculous running with his arms in the air as the bird creatures didn't make the slightest move toward him.

Ron took off after Harry, causing a chain effect of Hermione, Shane, and Meadow to follow suit and join Harry, untouched by the birds, at the door on the other side of the door. They heaved and tugged at the door. It didn't budge, not even when Hermione tried the Alohomora charm.

"Now what?" Ron said.

The five looked up at the birds. "These birds. . . they can't be here just for decoration," Hermione said slowly.

Meadow watched them with the others and then. . . light hit the birds and they glittered—_glittering birds?_

"They're not birds!" Harry exclaimed, noticing the same thing Meadow did, but she couldn't figure out what object they were. "They're _keys!"_ There was a reason why Harry was the youngest Quidditch player in a century. "Winged keys—look carefully. So that must mean. . ." He looked around the chamber while the other four squinted up at the flock of keys. ". . . yes—look! Broomsticks! We've got to catch the key to the door!"

"But there are _hundreds_ of them!" Ron exclaimed reproachfully.

Harry went over to the door and inspected the key-hole. "We're looking for a big, old-fashioned one—probably silver, like the handle," he said.

Meadow glanced at Shane, he was still pale and looked as if he was going to pass out at any second. Meadow spotted the broomsticks at the other side of the room. "Hermione, Shane, no offense, but I think Harry, Ron, and I should use the brooms," she said slowly.

Hermione nodded, and Shane had a look of relief flash on his face before he sat down next to the door. Meadow, Harry, and Ron all seized a broom and climbed on. At first, they grabbed and snatched at the keys as they flew into the cloud of them. But the bewitched keys darted and dived so quickly it was almost impossible to catch one.

Meadow was so absorbed in her own mission to grab a key, Harry's voice startled her when he yelled "That one! That big one—there! No, there—with bright blue wings—but the feathers are all crumpled on one side."

Meadow looked up and around for the key he was talking about, she was near the ground still. Ron had sped off in the direction that Harry was pointing to, and crashed into the ceiling, nearly falling off his broom in the process.

"We've got to close in on it!" Harry called to them, his eyes still focusing on the key he was talking about. "Ron, you come at if from above—Meadow, stay below and stop it from going down—and I'll try and catch it. Right, NOW!" he bellowed.

In that second, Ron dived, Meadow flew up—the key dodging them both—and Harry streaked after it; he leaned forward and—

CRUNCH.

Harry pinned it against the stone wall with one hand. Meadow cheered alongside with Hermione, Shane, and Ron. When the three landed, Meadow noticed that Shane's eyes had become tired and he looked more ill than ever.

"Ready?" Harry asked as he jammed the key into the lock, holding the struggling key there as he looked around.

Shane wobbled on his legs as he stood up; his eyes were blinking furiously and he struggled to stay standing before he collapsed.

"Shane!" Meadow cried and hurried over to him.

A deep purple bruise had started to splotch all around his neck, right where the Devil's Snare's tendrils had squeezed him.

"I'll be fine," Shane's voice was far away and light. "You four go on. You've got to stop him."

"You'll be okay?" Hermione's voice trembled as she joined Meadow next to Shane.

"I'll be fine," he repeated. "I'll gather my strength. I'll go get Dumbledore—use the broom to get up past the Devil's Snare and Fluffy—"

"Straight to the owlery," Harry said and he turned the key, the door's lock clicked open and he grabbed the door knob. "C'mon, Doe, we're wasting time."

Harry turned the door and he pulled it open.

He and Ron stepped forward into the dark room and disappeared from view. "You're sure?" Meadow asked Shane as he took another ragged breath.

He nodded, "I just need to catch my breath—I'll be fine—you go on. I know—I know you need to do this—"

Meadow nodded and joined Hermione by the door. With one last look at Shane, the two girls headed into the black room. Fumbling along, they joined Harry and Ron a little way into the chamber. Suddenly, light flooded the room to reveal an astonishing sight.

They were standing on the edge of a huge chessboard, behind the black chessmen, which were all massive in size and craved from what looked like black stone. Facing them, way across the giant board, were the white pieces. The four shivered slightly at the sight of the white chessmen—they had no faces.

"Now what do we do?" Harry whispered.

Meadow briefly thought about telling them about the invisibility cloak that was hidden under her robes, but Ron answered before her.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Ron said plainly. "We've got to play our way across the room."

Behind the white pieces, they could see another door.

"How?" Hermione asked nervously.

Ron took a deep breath and surveyed the room, "I think, we're going to have to be chessmen." He walked up to a black knight and put his hand out to touch the knight's horse.

Meadow flinched as the stone sprang to life. The horse pawed at the ground and the knight turned his helmeted head to look down at Ron. It was probably good that Ron spoke first before Meadow, if they could hear and see them now, what good would the invisibility cloak have done, especially with four of them stuffed under it—Meadow remembered how slow the Gryffindors had to move to keep themselves concealed under it earlier that night.

"Do we—er—have to join you to get across?" The black knight nodded at Ron and he turned to the other three. "This needs thinking about. . ." Ron said slowly as he tapped his chin with a finger. "I suppose we've got to take the place of four of the black pieces. . ."

Meadow, Harry, and Hermione stayed quiet, watching Ron think. Finally, Ron spoke again, "Now, don't be offended or anything, but none of you are that good at chess—"

"We're not offended," Harry said quickly as Meadow frowned, she didn't think Ron ever saw her play chess before—granted, she was terrible at the game anyway. "Just tell us what to do," Harry went on.

"Well, Harry, you take the place of that bishop, and Hermione you go next to him instead of that castle," Ron went on, his voice slowed down, as if he was trying to buy some time.

"What about you?"

"I'm going to be a knight," Ron replied to Hermione.

The chessmen seemed to have been listening, because at these words, a knight, a bishop, and a castle turned their backs on the white pieces and walked off the board, leaving three empty squares that Harry, Ron, and Hermione took.

"What about me?" Meadow asked as she looked around the board. Being a pawn would be far too dangerous, the queen as well would be a position Meadow wasn't keen to take, it was one of the strongest players of the game.

"Can we have one sit out?" Ron asked the knight he had talked to before.

It froze for a second before it shook its massive head.

Before Ron could say anything, Meadow stepped forward. "I'll be King," she put on her bravest face.

"No—"

"You can't—"

"That's really dangerous—"

The three Gryffindors protested, but the black King now stepped off the board as well, he handed her his crown, and Meadow stepped onto the square. The crown slipped down to rest upon her collar bones and shoulders. "It's a risk I'm willing to take," she said viciously. "We need to play to get across to that room and I will not be the reason why You-Know-Who gains a body again. What would be the point of coming all the way down here, losing Shane in the process, getting past Fluffy, the Devil's Snare, and the Key Room only to stop at a game of chess? If I'm not mistaken, Ron is one of the best players at Hogwarts—if anyone can get us all across safely, it's you," Meadow looked at Ron, he went scarlet at the compliment and glanced away from her, looking at the chessboard courageously.

"Right then. White always plays first in chess," Ron said. "Yes. . . look. . ."

A white pawn had moved forward two squares. The game started and silence fell upon them as Ron focused on the game. He directed the black pieces. They moved silently wherever he sent them. Despite the brave face Meadow had on, she was worried about the gamble she took when the other black knight was taken. The white queen smashed him to the floor and dragged him off the board, where he lay quite still, facedown with his horse beside him.

"Had to let that happen," Ron said, his face pale and his voice shook slightly. "Leaves you free to take that bishop, Hermione, go on."

Every time one of their men was lost, the white pieces showed no mercy. Soon there was a huddle of limp black players slumped along the wall. Twice, Ron only just noticed in time that Harry and Hermione were in danger. He, himself, darted around the board, taking almost as many white pieces as they had lost black ones. Meadow had stayed in the same spot for the majority of the game—the King was the most protected player of it, if the King was taken, the game was lost.

"We're nearly there," Ron muttered suddenly. "Let me think—let me think. . ."

The white queen turned her blank face toward him.

"Yes. . ." said Ron softly, "it's the only way. . . I've got to be taken."

"NO!" Meadow, Harry, and Hermione yelled together.

"That's chess!" Ron snapped at them all. "You've got to make some sacrifices! I take one step forward and she'll take me—that leaves you free to checkmate the king, Harry!"

"But—"

"Do you want to stop Snape or not?"

"Ron—"

"Look, if we don't hurry up, he'll already have the Stone!"

There was no alternative as they looked around the chessboard. Meadow silently said to herself that her father wasn't the one after the Stone, but made no indication out loud as Ron was taking the biggest sacrifice of the game.

"Ready?" Ron called from ahead, his face was drained of any color apart from the freckles upon his nose and he looked as determined as ever. "Here I go—now, don't hang around once you've won!"

He stepped forward.

Barely a second went by before the white queen pounced on him. She struck Ron hard across the head with her stone arm, and he crashed to the floor—Hermione screamed and Meadow's pulse felt as though she had been hit with a bolt of lightening it was racing so fast—the white queen dragged Ron to one side, where he joined the other broken and battered black pieces. He looked as if he'd been knocked out.

Meadow watched on weak knees as Harry moved three spaces to the left.

The white king took off his crown and threw it at Harry's feet. They had won. The chessmen parted and bowed, leaving the door ahead clear to enter. With one last desperate look back at Ron, Meadow, Harry and Hermione charged through the door and up the next passageway.

"What if he's-?" Hermione couldn't bring herself to finish the question.

"He'll be all right," Harry said, before he changed the subject, "What do you reckon's next?"

"We've had Sprout's, that was the Devil's Snare; Flitwick must've put charms on the keys; McGonagall transfigured the chessmen to make them alive; that leaves Quirrell's spell, and Snape's. . ." Meadow said.

They reached another door.

"All right?" Harry whispered to the girls.

"Go on," Hermione said.

"Ready," Meadow added.

Harry pushed it open.

A disgusting smell filled their nostrils, making the three of them pull their robes up over their noses. Harry and Hermione slowly walked forward, but that smell was one Meadow could never forget.

"_It's a troll!"_ Hermione's voice screamed in Meadow's head and she grew dizzy on the spot.

A memory flashed over Meadow's vision as she stumbled after the Gryffindors, she grabbed one of them, unsure of who, as Halloween flooded Meadow.

_A large, massive hand easily wrapped around Meadow's chest and waist. The troll in the bathroom had grabbed Meadow and was shaking her violently through the air as shouts from Harry, Shane, and Ron filled her head. _

Meadow's eyes watered and she staggered after them, Harry or Hermione was leading her around the troll that had been knocked out already—a large, bloody lump on its head. Suddenly, Meadow's legs gave out from under her as if she had been hit on the back of the knees with another memory from the Halloween troll. She grabbed robes as she fell and yanked someone back hard, it must have been Hermione as a small squeak sounded very much like her instead of Harry.

Screams were still echoing in Meadow's ears and her ribs felt as though they were being broke again by the squeeze of the troll. Someone knelt down in front of Meadow, her vision swarming with the bathroom from Halloween and the chamber they were in currently. Meadow couldn't decipher which one was real—the bathroom or the chamber. Tunnel vision played on her eyes and she felt dissociated from her body.

And then—Meadow was lifted up. Harry must have pulled her up onto his back as Hermione dashed forward to get the next door. The smell lifted from their noses as they entered the next room and Meadow blinked in confusion.

She wasn't sure how much time had passed, but Hermione was grinning happily at a piece of paper as Harry peered at it. Meadow realized that Harry was the one who picked her up as she was sitting on his back with his arms wrapped under her legs. She looked around, two fires were before the doorframes and seven differently shaped bottles were standing on a table in a line.

"Harry," she said in a small voice, "You can put me down now."

"Er—right," Harry responded and let go of her legs so she slid off his back. "Sorry—we weren't sure what was happening to you—"

"It's fine," Meadow responded, just happy to be away from the troll smell. The trolls face from Halloween flashed in her eyes as she blinked. She shook her head to clear it. "Right then, what's this."

Hermione grinned broadly at her, "Professor Snape is _brilliant._ This isn't magic—it's logic—a puzzle. A lot of the greatest wizards haven't got an ounce of logic, they'd be stuck in here forever."

"But so will we, won't we?" Harry asked.

"Of course not," Hermione responded. "Everything we need is here on this paper." She read it aloud:

"_Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,  
Two of us will help you, whichever you would find,  
One among us seven will let you move ahead,  
Another will transport the drinker back instead,  
Two among our number hold only nettle wine,  
Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line.  
Choose, unless you wish to stay here forevermore,  
To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:  
First, however slyly the poison tries to hid  
You will always find some on nettle wine's left side;  
Second, different are those who stand at either end,  
But if you would move onward, neither is your friend;  
Tird, as you see clearly, all are different size,  
Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides:_

_Fourth, the second left and the second on the right  
Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight."_

Meadow now grinned as well, "Two are wine, three are poison, one gets us ahead, and one gets us back. Wow, clever."

Harry looked flabbergasted as Meadow and Hermione walked up and down the table muttering quietly to themselves and each other. They picked out the two bottles of wine and set them back on the table slightly, but not moving the order. Next came the two known poison bottles, each to the left of the wine and set those back as well, leaving three bottles. A rounded bottle at the right end of the line, the tiniest bottle towards the left side, and the conical bottle in the middle.

The two girls gave each other a knowing look, "Got it," they said together.

"The smallest bottle will get us through the black fire—toward the stone," Meadow said to Harry, who still looked lost at the puzzle.

The three looked at the tiny vial.

"There's only enough there for one of us," Harry said. "That's hardly one swallow." He looked between the two, "Which one will get you back through the purple flames?"

Hermione pointed to the round bottle on the right end.

"You two drink that," Harry said.

Meadow grew hot with anger, so hot it felt ice cold. She was not about to be sent back right before the final reveal. If it was her father on the other side of the black fire, she had every right to be there to confront him.

"No, listen," Harry said very seriously, he must have noticed the anguish on Meadow's face. "Get back, get Ron and Shane. Grab the brooms and get that letter to Dumbledore. I might be able to hold Snape off for a while, but I'm no match for him really."

"But Harry—what if You-Know-Who's with him?" Hermione's voice trembled.

"Well—I was lucky once, wasn't I?" he pointed to the scar on his forehead, "I might get lucky again."

Hermione's lip trembled and she dashed at Harry, throwing her arms around him and Meadow noticed tears leaking from her brown eyes.

"_Hermione!"_ Harry exclaimed, taken off guard.

"Harry—you're a great wizard, you know," she said, still holding him tight.

"I'm not as good as you," Harry replied, his face turned slightly pink with embarrassment and Hermione let him go.

"Me! Book! And cleverness! There are more important things—friendship and bravery and—oh Harry—be careful!" Hermione squeaked as she looked earnestly into his face.

"I'm going with you," Meadow said to Harry after she watched the Gryffindor's exchange. Harry's and Hermione's eyes snapped to her, as if they forgot she was there.

"But there's only—"

Harry started and Meadow held out a very small bottle of her own, it was roughly the same size as the tiny bottle on the table, but held a clear liquid in it. One of the potions she had nicked out of her father's store room was pinched between her thumb and forefinger.

"What—what is that?" Hermione asked.

"An expanding potion," Meadow replied and she advanced to the table.

"Will it work?" Harry's voice stopped her.

The blonde turned away from the black fire potion and her black eyes landed on Harry's green ones. "Yes. Trust me, even if you don't trust my father," she said lightly. "The amount of times I cleaned the student storeroom and his own private storage, I know everything in each of them. All the potions and the ingredients, everything. This potion—" Meadow held up the clear liquid, "—will take any property of another liquid. It just needs a drop to do so." She paused and looked at the two, Hermione looked even more nervous than before and Harry looked skeptical.

"Look, Harry, if there's anything I do know, it's potions. I've been reading all about them since I was little—"

Meadow started but Harry cut her off, "It'll be dangerous. Very dangerous."

"If my dad is in that chamber, I have every right to go through that fire," Meadow spat angerly.

"No," Harry said firmly. "I won't let you put yourself at risk if Voldemort is already there."

Meadow's nostrils flared. "I will not find out from you about my own father," she snapped. Cool ambition filled her veins. "You will not stand in my way to find the truth out for myself. If there's a way I'm able to come with you, I am. And I have that way—" without waiting for a response, Meadow grabbed the smallest vial, poured some of the Expanding Potion into the vial and then tipped a drop back into her own bottle.

Immediately, the clear liquid turned an ink black. "I'm either coming with you or I'm going without you," Meadow said definitely, holding one of the vials up towards Harry.

Silence.

Harry nodded the tiniest of nods, taking the vial from Meaodw. Hermione gave a small squeak and engulfed Meadow into a hug. The Slytherin instinctually wrapped her arms around the Gryffindor girl. "Meadow!" she cried. "Be careful!" Thankfully, Hermione did not protest Meadow going through the black fire. She must have known all along that Meadow would have something up her sleeve to go with Harry when the time came.

Hermione pulled back, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I don't care what everyone thinks about Slytherins," she said tearfully, "You're the most loyal friend I've ever met."

Meadow felt a tightness grow in her sinuses as tears threatened to rise. "Thank you," she managed to say quietly. She looked at Harry, and then—

"You drink first," he said to Hermione. "You are sure which is which, aren't you?"

"Positive," the girls said together.

Hermione walked forward and she took a long drink from the round bottle at the end, and she shuddered.

"It's not poison?" Harry asked anxiously.

"No—but it's like ice."

"Quick, go, before it wears off."

"Good luck—take care—"

"GO!" Meadow and Harry said together to Hermione.

She turned and walked straight through the purple fire that covered the exit back towards the knocked-out troll, Ron and the chessboard, key room and Shane, Devil's Snare, and Fluffy.

Harry and Meadow looked at each other and Meadow suddenly remembered—she had the invisibility cloak tucked down her front. She reached into her shirt and robes and pulled it out.

"I'll wear this," she said as Harry gaped at her. "That way, I can confront my father—if he's down there, or I can hide from sight."

"Good idea," Harry said and lifted the small vial. Before he put it to his lips and drank, he locked eyes with Meadow, "You are sure of coming with?"

"Yes," She responded and lifted her own vial to her lips. She took the one gulp of potion she had and ice spread through her body. Meadow put the cloak on and disappeared from Harry's sight.

Quickly, Harry swallowed his potion and he put the bottle down on the table. Meadow grabbed Harry's hand through the cloak, remaining fully covered.

And together, the two walked forward into the black flames.

-.-.-


	25. Strength Enough for This

Miracle

_Quickly, Harry swallowed his potion and he put the bottle down on the table. Meadow grabbed Harry's hand through the cloak, remaining fully covered. _

_And together, the two walked forward into the black flames. _

Chapter 25: Strength Enough for This

Meadow felt Harry grow stiff as he braced himself for some sort of impact as they walked through the black flames. But the flames only licked at them, covering their vision as they walked further along the small hallway—then they were on the other side, in the last chamber.

Harry let go of Meadow's hand and she quietly tip-toed into the room. There was someone already there—but it wasn't Severus Snape. It wasn't even You-Know-Who.

It was Quirrell.

"_You!"_ Harry gasped.

Quirrell smiled sinisterly, his face wasn't twitching at all.

"Me," he said calmly. "I wondered whether I'd be meeting you here, Potter."

"But I thought—Snape—"

Quirrell laughed, it was cold and sharp, any tremble he normally had was gone. "Severus? Ah, yes, Severus does seem the type, doesn't he? So useful to have him swooping around like an overgrown bat. Next to him, who would suspect p-p-poor, st-stuttering P-Professor Quirrell?"

Underneath the invisibility cloak Meadow pumped her fist in the air, happy that the culprit wasn't her father. And she actually did mention that Quirrell shouldn't be overlooked ages ago before Ron shot her down. It was a short victory however, as the sobering thought of Quirrell trying to steal the Stone crossed her mind—the Stone still wasn't safe.

"But Snape tried to kill me!"

"No, no, no," Quirrell said harshly. "_I _tried to kill you. Your friend Miss Granger accidently knocked me over as she rushed to set fire to Snape at that Quidditch match. _She_ broke my eye contact with you. Another few seconds and I'd have got you off that broom. I'd have managed it before then if Snape hadn't been muttering a counter-curse, trying to _save_ you."

"Snape—was trying to _save_ me?" Harry's voice was dripping in disbelief. He had been so convinced that Meadow's father was trying to kill him, he couldn't wrap his head around the fact that it was Quirrell down here in the chamber.

"Of course. Why do you think he wanted to referee your next match? He was trying to make sure I didn't do it again. Funny, really. . . he needn't have bothered. I couldn't do anything with Dumbledore watching. All the other teachers thought Snape was trying to stop Gryffindor from winning. He _did_ make himself rather unpopular. . . and what a waste of time, when after all that, I'm going to kill you tonight," Quirrell snapped his fingers and ropes sprang out of thin air. Wrapping themselves around Harry tightly.

Despite the words being cold about Meadow's father, she was happy to hear that his only crime was becoming unpopular, though she didn't really think he was ever well-liked to begin with.

"You're too nosy to live, Potter," Quirrell had continued. "Scurrying around the school on Halloween like that, for all I knew you'd seen me coming to look at what was guarding the Stone."

"_You _let the troll in?"

As quietly as she could, Meadow inched back over to Harry. Though, Quirrell had continued talking, so her tip-toeing was covered up by his voice as well. "Certainly. You see, I have a special gift with trolls—you must have seen what I did to the one in the chamber back there? Unfortunately, while everyone else was running around looking for it, Snape, who already suspected me, went straight to the third floor to head me off—and not only did my troll fail to beat you to death, that three-headed dog didn't even manage to bite Snape's leg off properly.

"Now, wait quietly, Potter. I need to examine this interesting mirror."

Meadow and Harry realized that the object behind Quirrell was the Mirror of Erised.

"This mirror is the key to finding the Stone," Quirrell murmured, tapping his way around the frame. "Trust Dumbledore to come up with something like this. . . but he's in London. . . I'll be far away by the time he gets back. . ."

Meadow was frozen to the spot, she could say or do anything without giving herself away. Harry must have been thinking along the same lines as he blurted out, "I saw you and Snape in the forest—"

"Yes," Quirrell said, his voice distant as he continued to walk around the mirror and look at the back of it. "He was on to me by that time, trying to find out how far I'd got. He suspected me all along. Tried to frighten me—as though he could, when I had the Dark Lord on my side. . ."

Quirrell came back out from behind the mirror and started hungrily into it. "I see the Stone. . . I'm presenting it to my master. . . but where is it?"

Quietly, as Quirrell was muttering to himself, Meadow tiptoed back towards Harry and stood behind him, he was struggling against the ropes.

"But Snape always seemed to hate me so much," Harry said.

"Oh, he does," Quirrell responded with a wave of his hand, as if he was brushing Harry off, "heavens, yes. He was at Hogwarts with your father, didn't you know? They loathed each other. But he never wanted you _dead._"

The words hit Meadow harder than she ever knew words could hurt. Not even when she found out that her father was in fact, a Death Eater. And then, it made sense on why her father looked murderous when Remus and Shane showed up on their doorstep so many months ago for her birthday. Her father and Remus said they weren't exactly friends. . . they were enemies.

"But I heard you a few days ago, sobbing—I thought Snape was threatening you. . ." Harry was saying as Meadow gathered her thoughts. Surely, there was something she could do to help him without raising suspicion.

Quirrell's face had a spasm of fear flash across it. "Sometimes, I find it hard to follow my master's instructions—he is a great wizard and I am weak—"

"You mean he was there in the classroom with you?" Harry gasped.

Meadow's eyes widened. Lord Voldemort. _Here?_ _At Hogwarts?_

"He is with me wherever I go," Quirrell said quietly. "I met him when I traveled around the world. A foolish young man I was then, full of ridiculous ideas about good and evil. The Dark Lord showed me how wrong I was. There is no good and evil, there is only power, and those too weak to seek it. . . Since then, I have served him faithfully, although I have let him down many times. He has had to be very hard on me." Quirrell shivered suddenly, though his eyes were still searching the mirror. "He does not forgive mistakes easily. When I failed to steal the stone from Gringotts, he was most displeased. He punished me. . . decided he would have to keep a closer watch on me. . ."

Quirrell's voice trailed away.

"Harry," Meadow breathed, very quietly, as Quirrell had once again returned his attention fully on the mirror. "Harry, what do I do?"

"I don't understand. . ." Quirrell cursed in frustration, "is the Stone _inside_ the mirror? Should I break it?"

Harry's mind was racing and then he murmured, "Try to get it."

Silent as a ghost, Meadow inched away from Harry as Quirrell spun around, "Who are you talking to?"

Harry fell to the floor in surprise over Quirrell's authoritative tone of voice. "No one—"

"_Don't lie!"_ Quirrell yelled at him and turned to advance on Harry. "What does this mirror do? How does it work?" Though, Meadow wasn't sure if he was still talking to Harry or to himself, especially since he said, "Help me, Master!"

"Use the boy. . . Use the boy. . ."

Meadow took the opportunity to rush to the mirror. She didn't pay any attention to the details of the mirror. Not the ornate gold frame standing on two clawed feet. Not the inscription carved around the top that read: _Erised stra ehru oy tube cafru oyt wohsi._ Not the pure massive size of it.

No. Instead, Meadow peered into the mirror the thought of: _I must find the Stone to hide it from Quirrell and Lord Voldemort._

"What? What do you mean?" Harry's voice asked behind her and Meadow forced herself to focus on the mirror and the Stone.

Despite being under the invisibility cloak, Meadow saw her reflection. She looked very scared. She was very pale, her hair wild from the jump down from Fluffy onto the Devil's Snare. There were scratching along her face, probably from the razor sharp, rainbow colored wings from the Key Room. There were spots of dirt and dust upon her from the Chess match. Her eyes looked blood shoot, and she didn't know if that was from the troll or the black fire.

A moment later, the timid looking girl in the mirror gave a broad grin and stuck her hand into the pocket of her jumper. She pulled out a palm-sized blood-red stone. She winked and put the Stone back into her jumper pocket—and when she did, Meadow felt something heavy drop into her real pocket. Somehow—incredibly—_she'd gotten the stone. _

"Yes—Potter—come here!" Quirrell's voice was cold and he clapped his hands, the ropes that bound Harry fell off.

Meadow scurried away as fast as possible as Harry slowly rose to his feet. Meadow wasn't sure what Harry saw in that mirror, but as soon as he looked into it, his eyes snapped onto the exact spot Meadow was standing. It was as if Harry knew exactly where she was.

"Well?" Quirrell said impatiently. "What is it? What do you see?"

"I see myself shaking hands with Dumbledore," Harry said. "I—I've won the house cup for Gryffindor."

"Shite," Quirrell cursed again. "Get out of the way."

Harry moved aside as Quirrell positioned himself in front of the mirror once more. Meadow grabbed Harry's wrist very gently and the two started to walk backwards, watching Quirrell as they inched their way towards the door.

"He lies. . . He lies. . ."

The same high, cold, horrible voice that had talked before alerted Quirrell of their deception.

"Potter, come back here! Tell me the truth! What did you just see!" Quirrell spun and shouted at him.

The voice spoke again, "Let me speak to them. . . face-to-face. . ."

In that moment, Meadow knew she had been found out. But Quirrell didn't catch it as he trembled, "Master, you are not strong enough."

"I have strength enough. . . for this. . ."

Meadow was rooted to the spot. She saw that Harry looked as petrified as she felt as they watched Quirrell unwrap his turban. The millions of questions that normally rattled around in Meadow's brain were gone. She couldn't understand or process what was happening as the turban fell away. Quirrell's head looked strangely small without it. Then, he turned slowly on the spot.

Meadow couldn't help herself, she screamed at the sight. Quirrell's head, where it should have been the back of his head, there was a face. The most terrible face Meadow had ever seen. It was chalk white with glaring red eyes and slits for nostrils, like a snake.

Quirrell snapped his fingers together and the invisibility cloak was whipped off Meadow and she now became visible to the world once more. Quirrell snapped again and ropes shot out of the ground and bound her to the spot. Harry's eyes were wide and full of panic. His plan to keep Meadow safe had failed. It was by no fault of his own.

"Harry Potter. . ." The face on the back of Quirrell's head whispered. "See what I have become? Mere shadow and vapor. . . I have form only when I can share another's body. . . but there have always been those willing to let me into their hearts and minds. . . Unicorn blood has strengthened me, these past weeks. . . you saw faithful Quirrell drinking it for me in the forest. . . and once I have the Elixir of Life, I will be able to create a body of my own. . . Now. . ." the face turned to Meadow. "_Meadow Snape. . . _why don't you give me that Stone in your pocket?"

So, he knew about the stone. Meadow would have stumbled back if she wasn't being held by rope to the spot. Harry stepped in front of her and the face of Lord Voldemort snapped at him. "Don't be a fool. Better save your own life and join me. . . or you'll meet the same end as your parents. . . They died begging me for mercy. . ."

"LIAR!" Harry shouted suddenly, his wand was clutched tightly in his hand now.

"How touching. . ." it hissed as Quirrell started walking backward toward them, so that Voldemort could still see them. The face was twisted into an evil smile. "I always value bravery. . . Yes, boy, your parents were brave. . . I killed your father first, and he put up a courageous fight. . . but your mother needn't have died. . . she was trying to protect you. . . Now, give me the Stone, unless you want her to have died in vain."

"NEVER!" Harry yelled.

It was in this moment that Meadow remembered she had a second potions bottle in her pocket, but she couldn't reach for it. Not yet, at least, she needed a distraction so she could grab it.

"SEIZE HIM!" Voldemort screamed. Quirrell sprang forward and a scuffle broke out between Harry and Quirrell.

Harry's screams of pain filled the chamber and Meadow took the opportunity. She strained against the ropes that held her, she felt her jumper and centimeter by centimeter she grabbed the fabric and pulled the pocket closer to her hand.

Quirrell's howls of pain now took the place of Harry's, and Meadow looked up. Harry was rubbing his forehead with his left hand, looking thoroughly confused as both his and Meadow's eyes found Quirrell. He was hunched over in pain, looking at his fingers—they were blistering before his eyes.

"Seize him! SEIZE HIM!" Voldemort shrieked again.

Quirrell launched himself at Harry, knocking him clean off his feet. Quirrell's hands around Harry's neck and screams filled the room again, echoing around the stone, making Meadow's ears ring. She once again continued her goal to grabbing that potion's bottle from her jumper pocket. Slowly, agonizingly, painfully slow, Meadow grabbed the bottle. Now, there was the problem of taking the stopper off.

"Master, I cannot hold him—my hands—my hands!" Quirrell yelled, pain filling every inch of his voice.

Meadow glanced over at Harry and Quirrell. Quirrell had Harry pinned to the ground with his knees. His hands no longer on Harry's neck as he looked at them bewildered—Quirrell's palms were burned, red, raw, and shiny. As if touching Harry was like touching the coal of a fire.

"Then get the girl, fool, and be done!" Voldemort screeched.

Any hope that Meadow had flushed out of her system, creating a cold sweat that vibrated across her body as Quirrell—still pinning Harry down—turned to her. She didn't care about unstoppering the potion anymore, she jerked against the ropes and let go of the bottle. It fell with a crash and the glass shattered.

BANG.

Flames erupted from where the potion landed, catching Quirrell off guard—enough time where Harry had reached up and grabbed Quirrell's face.

"AAARGHH!" Quirrell screamed and rolled off Harry, clutching his now blistering face. Meadow strained against the ropes, trying with all her might to pull free.

Harry had jumped to his feet and rushed over to Meadow. "JUST GO!" she yelled at him. "Take the Stone and run!"

He shook his head and rushed Quirrell, as if he knew something. Harry lunged and caught Quirrell around the arm. Both Harry and Quirrell had screamed that filled the chamber. The smoke of the potion inched toward Meadow; it was getting difficult to breath against the binding of the rope and carbon monoxide that filled the air.

The smoke was upon her as Voldemort's cold shrieking voice started yelling "KILL THEM! KILL HIM!" at Quirrell, who's hands and face were blistering horribly. Boils of liquid, yellow puss bubbling all across his skin. The smoke had reached Meadow's nose, burning as it went through her nostrils and throat. She started to cough and struggled against the ropes harder. But the lack of sweet, rich oxygen rid her strength and her pulling became weaker. Her eyes were watering and tears poured down her cheeks as they were stinging. Gasping for breath, Meadow only felt herself suffocating as the vision in her eyes swam before her.

She could feel her head getting heavier from lack of oxygen and suddenly, the voice that was screaming "KILL HIM! KILL HIM!" was joined by one much calmer, though it could have been to Meadow's imagination, as the smoke now fogged her vision, "Harry! Meadow!"

And then, Meadow felt herself fall into blackness, down. . . down. . . down. . . further away from the scene she was at as she plunged away from the last glimpse of Harry struggling against Quirrell as if the smoke was following her.

-.-.-

When Meadow woke, she lurched up into a sitting position on the bed she was lying in. Though, she immediately regretted it as her head started to pound furiously, forcing her to lie once more. At first, she didn't recognize where she was as she stared around at the room from her propped pillows and then her brain seemed to register where she was.

Meadow was in one of the Hospital Wing beds in the white pajamas that were provided by Madam Pomfrey to each one of her patients. Her Quidditch sleeve that was always on her left arm was gone. The other thing she noticed right away; was she thankfully didn't wake up in a neck brace as she had the last time, she woke up in the hospital wing. She could turn her head from side to side, and was thankful to see that Harry, though he appeared to be sleeping or still unconscious, was next to her.

Within a blink of an eye she was engulfed in a bone-crushing hug. The smell of patchouli filled her aching nose. Her father. He was there yet again waiting for his daughter to wake up. And then, it was all over, before she knew it, the hug was done as he pushed her back to study her face. His cold demeanor back, and the unfamiliar display of affection once again became a longing upon Meadow.

He didn't say anything to her, however, Meadow felt as though any questions he had were already answered as she felt like something had invaded her mind.

Madam Pomfrey's office door opened and the healer came out, carrying a potion in her hand. Without a word, Meadow's father got up, gave a stony jerk of his head towards the nurse and walked out of the hospital wing. As if all he cared about was making sure Meadow was alive and would come out of the unconsciousness state she was once in. This made her annoyed slightly, that he left without even a word to her.

Meadow did as she was told from Madam Pomfrey, not having the energy to protest, though, her throat was so sore she wasn't sure if she could talk. The healer reassured Meadow that in a few days' time, she'd be feeling much better, her throat pain and noisy breathing would no longer ail her.

-.-.-

A day and a half later, Meadow woke to Professor Dumbledore sitting quietly between her and Harry's beds. Harry had still not awoken yet and Madam Pomfrey was not allowing visitors to them. But Meadow heard not only Shane, Hermione, and Ron protesting but also Daphne, Theodore, and Terence wanting to visit. However, Madam Pomfrey had let them know that Meadow was awake and resting and could not see any visitors for at least another day. Meadow wished more than anything to give each one a hug. Especially Daphne.

Despite not being allowed visitors, that did not stop students from sending treats and tokens of admiration to her and Harry. Harry's pile of sweets towered over Meadow's; however, she hadn't expected to get anything from anyone and was quite glad that most of her goodies contained pumpkin pasties, her favorite treat.

"Hello, Meadow," Dumbledore's wispy voice said once he noticed she was awake.

"P—Professor Dumble—dore," Meadow croaked, her voice low and growly. She hadn't talked due to Madam Pomfrey's insistence after she had tried to yesterday, but Meadow thought it would be polite to address the Headmaster of Hogwarts. But her throat was still sore from the smoke she inhaled in the chamber from the Exploding Potion she brought with and set off. Meadow had to let Madam Pomfrey put some thick, orange paste on her throat, but neither one seemed to be sure it was working for the inside of Meadow's throat. Now, in addition to the paste, Meadow had to gulp down Wiggenweld Potion every six hours, including during the night to help mend her throat, but also the variety of cuts and bruises she received from all of the tasks she and the others had completed.

He smiled at her and held up a gentle hand to silence her, "I heard from Madam Pomfrey you have a severely damaged throat from the smoke you inhaled down in the chamber. She assures me that once you allow yourself to heal, you will be able to talk again."

Meadow saw his eyes briefly look down at her exposed left arm. The large, thick, still very pink scars shone brightly against her light skin. Pink flushed to Meadow's face and she hid part of her arm under the covers, unfortunately, there was only so much she could hide without the Quidditch sleeve. Her upper arm was still showing the ugly scar from the troll in her short sleeved white t-shirt that Madam Pomfrey made her change into last night before bed.

It was quite startling, however, that without a voice, Meadow had no strength to put up a fight of any kind. She did as she was told from Madam Pomfrey—"take your potions," "eat your pudding," "change your clothes," "drink a pitcher of water a day," "rest and sleep as much as possible." And now with Professor Dumbledore, she couldn't even tell him that her scar was from the troll attack and not the chamber. For some reason, that seemed really important to her.

"Eventually," Dumbledore said looking back at Meadow's face than her arm. "That will fade into nothing more than a white scar, barely visible unless there is someone actively looking for it. And so will the memories of the troll."

Meadow narrowed her eyes and frowned at the Headmaster. It had already been almost seven months since the troll attack, it never once faded. It was still an angry pink, still raised skin, still ugly, and still very permanent.

It was as if Professor Dumbledore had read her mind, like he knew what she was thinking as he replied once again, "It will take many years, however, for the physical appearance to fully heal on its own. But mentally and emotionally, for those wounds to heal, one must actively work on acceptance and forgiveness."

Meadow was startled at these words, surely Dumbledore didn't know about what the troll room had done to her? Those flashbacks. . . If it weren't for Harry physically picking her up, Meadow had no idea what would have happened to her. Imagining that troll in the chamber to be conscious too. . . Fear flashed across her face as both trolls appeared in her mind.

"I suspect Mr. Potter will be waking shortly and he will have many questions that you may have yourself," Professor Dumbledore said as he looked over at Harry, who was moving around now more frequently, twitching and fidgeting in his unconscious state.

Meadow nodded in response. Thankful she did not have to speak again, and took a sip of water that was in a glass on the bedside table.

"Quite extraordinary it is," Dumbledore continued, his blue eyes sparkling as they landed on her black orbs, and she looked at him questioningly, "Your friendship to the Gryffindors never wavered throughout the year. Not even when they were adamant that Professor Snape was behind the attempt to steal the Stone."

Meadow gave the Headmaster a grim smile, there were a few times in the year she had grown frustrated with the Gryffindors, well, mainly Ron, about accusing her father. Granted, she really couldn't blame them as he punished them for doing things correctly as well—Harry taking notes, Hermione knowing the answer. . . among other examples as well. Even now, with his brief visit to Meadow, she was starting to resent him. She knew her mother wouldn't have left after she woke up. Her mother would still be by Meadow's side reassuring her that Madam Pomfrey would fix her right up, but it would take some time for the burns to heal on the inside of her throat. Hell, even Ms. Kashmire would have probably spent hours upon hours watching after Meadow. The annoyance grew more in Meadow at her father for leaving her alone in the Hospital Wing.

"It is an unusual friendship," Dumbledore continued. "Not many are able to stay friends due to the differences in houses. But I see you and Harry have a strong bond. For I assume Harry wanted to face Voldemort alone, but you insisted on going with, very clever of you to use an Expanding Potion."

Meadow nodded again. And a silence fell over the two as they stared at Harry. She wasn't sure how much time had passed as they watched Harry grow more agitated in his unconscious state.

Then, Harry's eyes opened and Dumbledore peered over him with a smile upon his face. "Good afternoon, Harry," he said.

A pause from Harry as he looked at the Headmaster and then, "Sir! The Stone! It was Quirrell! He's got the Stone! Sir, quick—"

"Calm yourself, dear boy, you are a little behind the times," Dumbledore replied, his voice still soft and calm. "Quirrell does not have the Stone."

"Then who does? Sir, I—"

"Harry, please relax, or Madam Pomfrey will have me thrown out," Professor Dumbledore said, a smile played on his lips.

Harry swallowed and looked around him. His eyes registered the room, realizing he was in the hospital wing and then, landed on Meadow. She gave him a smile and tentatively gave him a small wave with her fingers. Harry let out a breath of relief, "Doe," he said softly.

She wished she could respond, but all she could do was nod vigorously with a huge smile upon her face. Harry's eyes flickered over to the tables at the ends of their beds and noticed the mounds of candies and gifts that were piled high.

"Tokens from your friends and admirers," Dumbledore said beaming at him. "What happened down in the dungeons between you two and Professor Quirrell is a complete secret, so, naturally, the whole school knows. I believe your friends Misters Fred and George Weasley were responsible for trying to send you a toilet seat. No doubt they thought it would amuse you. Madam Pomfrey, however, felt it might not be very hygienic, and confiscated it."

"How long have I been in here?" Harry asked after a moment of silence.

"Three days," Dumbledore responded, a hint of concern hit his voice, but then returned to his normal, wispy voice. "Misters Shane Lupin and Ronald Weasley, and Miss Hermione Granger will be most relieved you have come round, they have been extremely worried."

"But Sir, the Stone—" Harry started again and Dumbledore raised a hand to silence him.

"I see you are not to be distracted. Very well, the Stone." Dumbledore took a breath, though he looked thoroughly amused at Harry's determination to discuss the Philosopher's Stone. "Professor Quirrell did not managed to take it from Miss Snape," he gave a proud sort of look to Meadow before he returned to Harry., "I arrived in time to prevent that, although you, Harry, were doing very well on your own, I must say."

"You got there? You got Hermione's owl?" Harry burst out.

"We must have crossed in midair. No sooner had I reached London than it became clear to me that the place I should be was the one I had just left. I arrived just in time to pull Quirrell off you—"

"It was _you!_"

"I feared I might be too late."

"You nearly were, I couldn't have kept him away from Meadow much longer—"

"Not the Stone, boy, you—the effort involved nearly killed you. For one terrible moment there, I was afraid it had." Dumbledore turned back to Meadow, "And you, too. I was able to put out that fire that the Exploding Potion created and remove the ropes that bound you in the line of fire."

"Meadow?" Harry exclaimed, shocked. "But I thought—"

"Miss Snape was carrying a few potions that night, both of which helped you, Harry," Dumbledore said. "The smoke nearly killed her too—" he looked at her, as if he was asking for permission to tell Harry what happened to her, Meadow bowed her head. "Meadow inhaled much of the smoke from the fire, her throat is very irritated, and despite waking before you, she still needs a few days of recovery to regain her voice."

Harry looked wildly around at her, his eyes wide and swimming with concern. "Doe, I'm sorry!" He said and Meadow shook her head.

But that wasn't enough, Harry went on, "This wasn't supposed to happen—I never wanted you hurt, any of you who went with me—I knew I should have told you to help Hermione—you wouldn't—"

While Harry was blubbering about how he didn't want her hurt, Meadow got up from her bed and gave her friend a hug. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and placed her chin on the base of his neck and shoulder. Harry stopped talking before his arms instinctually wrapped around her back.

"It—it's okay," Meadow whispered, she knew it was bad for her throat to talk, but she wanted to make sure Harry knew that she had accepted the risks when she insisted on going through that fire.

The two pulled back from each other and Meadow smiled at Harry again, pleading with him to understand that if they were to go back and do it all over again, she'd still pick going through the black fire over the purple.

Meadow sat back on her bed and looked to Dumbledore, who was smiling at the two. "Wonderful," he said as Harry looked at the Headmaster too.

"The Stone—"

"The Stone has been destroyed," Dumbledore replied, still amused at Harry for wanting to know the details on it.

"Destroyed?" Harry baulked. "But your friend—Nicolas Flamel—"

"Oh, you know about Nicolas?" Dumbledore said delightedly. "You _did_ do the thing properly, didn't you? Well, Nicolas and I have had a little chat, and agreed it's all for the best."

"But that means he and his wife will die, won't they?"

Meadow watched the two, her own eyes wide with surprise over the news about the Stone. Even though, being awake the last day, she wasn't told this information, granted, she didn't have any visitors that were allowed into the Hospital Wing yet.

"They have enough Elixir stored to set their affairs in order and then, yes, they will die," Dumbledore said softly, a small smile on his face to reassure the two. "To one as young as you both, I'm sure it seems incredible, but to Nicolas and Perenelle, it really is like going to bed after a very, _very_ long day. After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure. You know, the Stone was really not such a wonderful thing. As much money and life as you could want! The two things most human beings would choose above all—the trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things that are worst for them."

Silence fell over them once again as Harry seemed lost for words. He sat there, leaning against his pillows looking awestruck. Professor Dumbledore took to humming a little while smiling at the ceiling as Harry collected his thoughts.

For once, Meadow didn't have any questions buzzing in her mind either. She sat on the edge of her bed, quite content in the silence.

But, Harry broke it as he hesitated while speaking, as if he was unsure if he wanted to ask Professor Dumbledore this, "Sir? I've been thinking. . . Sir—even if the Stone's gone, Vol-, I mean, You-Know-Who—"

"Call him Voldemort, Harry. Always use the proper name for things. Fear of a name increased fear of the thing itself," Dumbledore said softly and reassuringly.

Dumbledore's words stuck Meadow as odd, yet also, he was right. The wizarding world grew to be so afraid of Voldemort, no body speaks his name. . . which, in turn, created fear over his name and increased the fear of him.

"Yes, sir," Harry said. "Well, Voldemort's going to try other ways of coming back, isn't he? I mean, he hasn't gone, has he?"

"No, Harry, he has not. He is still out there somewhere, perhaps looking for another body to share. . . not being truly alive, he cannot be killed. He left Quirrell to die; he shows just as little mercy to his followers as his enemies. Nevertheless, Harry, while you may only have delayed his return to power, it will merely take someone else who is prepared to fight what seems a losing battle next time—and if he is delayed again, and again, why, he may never return to power."

Meadow blinked at this information, Voldemort. . . _back? Returning to power?_ What will happen when he _does_. . . _if_ he does return to power once more? Would he remember her? And what of her father? What will happen to him?

"Sir, there are some other things I'd like to know, if you can tell me. . . things I want to know the truth about. . ."

"The truth," Dumbledore sighed, "it is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution. However, I shall answer your questions unless I have a very good reason not to, in which case, I beg you'll forgive me. I shall not, of course, lie."

Meadow's attention became intrigued as she cocked her head to one side, looking between the two.

"Well. . ." Harry started as he gathered his thoughts once more. "Voldemort said that he only killed my mother because he tried to stop him from killing me. But why would he want to kill me in the first place?"

A very deep sigh came from Dumbledore, deeper than the last sigh.

"Alas, the first thing you ask me, I cannot tell you. Not today. Not now. You will know, one day. . . put it from your mind for now, Harry. When you are older. . . I know you hate to hear this. . . when you are ready, you will know." The Headmaster responded, looking quite downcast and upset that he could not answer Harry's question just yet.

Harry fell silent and a pregnant pause cast a cloud over the three.

"But—" Harry started, "why couldn't Quirrell touch me?"

"Ah," Dumbledore exclaimed, he must be able to answer this question. And Meadow was curious about his answer. She had found it odd that Quirrell's skin blistered whenever Quirrell tried to grab Harry and whenever Harry grabbed Quirrell. "Your mother died to save you. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. He didn't realize that love as powerful as your mother's four you leaves its own make," Dumbledore said, focusing on Harry. "Not a scar, no visible sign. . . to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever. It is in your very skin. Quirrell, full of hatred, green, and ambition, sharing his soul with Voldemort, could not touch you for this reason. It was agony to touch a person marked by something so good."

As Dumbledore became very interested in a bird out on the windowsill, Meadow became interested in her feet as Harry dried his eyes on his sheets. Meadow thought about what Dumbledore had said as she looked at her knobby ankles, _love so powerful. . . even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever. _Harry indeed, was the-boy-who-lived.

When Harry had composed himself, he asked, "And the invisibility cloak—do you know who sent it to me?"

"Ah—your father happened to leave it in my possession, and I thought you might like it," Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Useful things. . . your father used it mainly for sneaking off to the kitchens to steal food when he was here."

"And there's something else. . ." Harry said trailing off.

"Fire away," Dumbledore responded, he seemed to be enjoying Harry's questions, despite some of the loaded answers.

"Quirrell said Snape—"

"_Professor_ Snape, Harry," Dumbledore corrected him gently.

"Yes, him—Quirrell said he hates me because he hated my father. Is that true?"

Meadow's heart sunk at those words again. No matter how much she tried to forget that her father was in fact, a horrible person, his hatred of others would always follow her.

"Well," Dumbledore said, glancing at Meadow's downcast face, "they did rather detest each other. Not unlike yourself and Mr. Malfoy. And then, your father did something Snape could never forgive."

"What?"

"He saved his life."

"_What?"_

"Yes. . ." Dumbledore replied rather dreamily as he looked off into the distance. "Funny, the way people's minds work, isn't it? Professor Snape couldn't bear being in your father's debt. . . I do believe he worked so hard to protect you this year because he felt that would make him and your father even. Then he could go back to hating your father's memory in peace. . ."

Tears weld up in Meadow's eyes, her father really was a hateful person. He hated an innocent boy for no reason apart from the fact that he was his enemy's son. How could her mother love such a man who hated a boy for no reason other than he hated his father? A riff formed in Meadow just then. She could no longer see her father as someone to look up to. She saw the image of her father slipping away to leave something no more than a man who claimed to be her dad. Meadow desperately grasp at the positive image she still had of Severus Snape. But another thought crossed her mind.

How could Harry still be friends with someone who _has the last name of Snape?_ Meadow felt a hole begin to form in her chest, she'd be losing not just one friend, but all her Gryffindor friends now. They'd never accept her if Harry didn't.

Harry hadn't talked again, as if he was trying to figure out how to tell Meadow he no longer wanted to be friends.

However, he called her and Meadow's watery eyes snapped to his. "Doe," Harry said again, his voice soft and Meadow braced for the worst. He smiled and confusion etched across Meadow's face. "We're not our parents," he said finally. "I know that Snape hates me, but nothing will ever come between us. You proved not only to me, but to yourself that you're not your father. I dunno about your mother, but she must be very kind to have raised you."

Shock washed over Meadow and she almost corrected him to say that Ms. Kashmire raised her. But her throat prevented her from the correction. And then Meadow remembered what Hagrid said those many months ago, _"O'course, Sadie saw ter best in him. She was funny like that. Good heart. Kind soul. Saw ter best in everyone. . . Yer mother, always seein' ter best in people—she brought ter best out of people too. . . Meadow, yer mother twas a great witch. . ."_ She helped him turn spy. . . But if Severus was a spy, then why did he still hate Harry Potter so much? If he ended up wanting to change, why would he hate Harry?

But, if Meadow was so much different to her father, why did she get sorted into Slytherin instead of Hufflepuff like her mother?

Tears poured over Meadow's eyelids and Harry beckoned her over to him. Dumbledore watched on fondly at the two eleven-year-olds. Slowly, Meadow embraced Harry yet again.

"You're a great witch, you know," Harry said quietly. "I'd never blame you for anything Snape did or does, you should know that."

Despite Harry's comforting words, Meadow burst into tears and Harry tightened his grip around her. Though Meadow gave Harry space when he had teared up over his mother, Harry knew that she wanted the physical reassurance while she cried.

"I'm—I'm sorry," Meadow wailed finally, her voice hoarse and low, as she let go of him and grabbed a tissue nearby. Which she hid her face in until she was able to calm herself down and sniffle quietly while both Harry and Dumbledore smiled at her.

"I believe Harry means to say that he will only judge you upon your own actions," the Headmaster said quietly. "And quite wise of you do to so, Harry."

Harry gave another smile to Meadow as she dabbed at her eyes and cheeks before he turned to Dumbledore. "And sir, there's one more thing. . ."

"Just the one?" Dumbledore said tickled.

"How did Meadow get the Stone out of the mirror?" Harry's question puzzled Meadow as well, and she looked up at Dumbledore, waiting for an explanation.

"Ah, now, I'm glad you asked me that. It was one of my more brilliant ideas, and between us, that's saying something. You see, only one who wanted to _find_ the Stone—find it, but not use it—would be able to get it, otherwise they'd just see themselves making gold or drinking Elixir of Life. My brain surprises even me sometimes. . . Now, enough questions. I suggest you make a start on these sweets. Ah! Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans!" Dumbledore exclaimed as he changed the subject to the treats mounded up on the tables. "I was unfortunate enough in my youth to come across a vomit-flavored one, and since then I'm afraid I've rather lost my liking for them—but I think I'll be safe with a nice toffee, don't you?"

Dumbledore smiled and popped the golden-brown bean into his mouth. Then, he choked and said, "Alas! Ear wax!"

-.-.-

Professor Dumbledore had left the two pre-teens after the Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans incidence, where he then proclaimed that he would go back to the safety of not eating any of the beans to avoid any bad flavors. Meadow set up a tray in front of Harry—which she was happy to do to get out of bed and stretch her sore limbs—and grabbed a bit of everything for them to snack on together.

Madam Pomfrey had hustled over to check on Harry and bring Meadow the Wiggenweld Potion again. With the last swallow, Meadow's throat seemed to not be as scratchy on the inside nor as irritated. She was now able to talk free of pain, though, her voice still sounded dry and gravelly.

"Thank you, Harry," She said once Madam Pomfrey had left them again.

"For what?" Harry asked, he looked exhausted after the chat with Dumbledore.

"For sticking up for me. . ." Meadow said, her voice catching as tears weld up in her eyes again, threatening to spill over. "For believing in me. You know, this whole year I'd been so afraid that you Gryffindors would end up hating me because of my last name. Where you wouldn't even talk to me, especially after you met my father. . ."

Harry let out a breath, as if he was fighting with himself. "Well, honestly, if I met you after the Sorting and meeting Snape for the first time. . . that potions lesson where you stood up for me, saying whatever answers he had asked for. . . I probably would have hated you," he gave her a sheepish grin, "But what matters is what Dumbledore said, I'm going to 'judge you upon your own actions.' And like I said before, you proved yourself as someone who is kind and caring." He stopped himself short, but Meadow was beaming at him. "And I don't hate you," he said and smiled sleepily back at her.

-.-.-


	26. 26 Unwavering Loyalty and Determination

Miracle

_Harry let out a breath, as if he was fighting with himself. "Well, honestly, if I met you after the Sorting and meeting Snape for the first time. . . that potions lesson where you stood up for me, saying whatever answers he had asked for. . . I probably would have hated you," he gave her a sheepish grin, "But what matters is what Dumbledore said, I'm going to 'judge you upon your own actions.' And like I said before, you proved yourself as someone who is kind and caring." He stopped himself short, but Meadow was beaming at him. "And I don't hate you," he said and smiled sleepily back at her. _

Chapter 26: Unwavering Loyalty and Determination

While Harry slept, Meadow was allowed to see Daphne and Theodore briefly. They had begged Madam Pomfrey to see Meadow and seeing that Meadow was looking at the healer with big eyes and a pouty mouth, she allowed the two Slytherins in after she pulled the curtains around Harry to let him rest.

"Keep your voices down," Madam Pomfrey said once she finished pulling the tall curtains around Harry.

"Yes, Madam Pomfrey," the three said to her politely.

Once the school healer walked away, Daphne threw her arms around Meadow. "We thought you were dead!"

Meadow let out a choked laugh as she hugged Daphne back. "Just about, but no. It'll take more than that to kill me." Her voice was still rough from her healing throat, but at least now she could talk.

"What did happen down there?" Theodore asked her, eying Meadow suspiciously.

She let out a heavy breath from her nose in slight annoyance at his tone towards her. Daphne cast a nervous glance between the two of them before she quickly added, "There's loads of rumors going around saying that Quirrell tried to kill you and Potter. That—that you, Potter, Lupin, Weasley, and Granger all went into that forbidden third floor corridor. And that Dumbledore turned Quirrell into dust!"

Meadow snorted. Though, two of the three rumors were true. Quirrell did try to kill her and Harry, and the group of them did go through the forbidden third floor corridor. But Dumbledore turning Quirrell into dust was not true, though. . . it was Harry who gave the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor blisters anywhere Harry touched him. "Anything else?"

"Yeah," Theodore said dryly, "That you can't ever accept that you're a Slytherin and shouldn't be—" he looked around in the air, as if he was searching for the right word, "—associating yourself with those Gryffindors, especially Potter."

Meadow rolled her eyes, "Oh please. Just because I'm a Slytherin doesn't mean I can't be friends with other houses." She narrowed her black eyes at him after a moment, "What is with you? I know you've got a problem with me being friends with the Gryffindors, but why does it even matter? They're nice people. Maybe if you weren't so in your head about the whole Gryffindors verses Slytherins you'd be friends with them too."

Theodore barked out a harsh laughter, "There's nothing that would make me be friends with those dumb freaks—"

"Just because others in our house label them as something doesn't mean that's what they are," Meadow cut him off, Ms. Kashmire _had_ rubbed off on her. "Why'd you even come visit me if all you were going to do is rip into me about the Gryffindors?"

Theodore went to open his mouth for a retort but Daphne stomped on his foot hard, without trying to conceal the fact that she did, in fact, stomp on his foot. "That was not at all what we agreed to do when we saw you," She spat out, glaring harshly at Theodore.

Theodore looked immediately reserved, as if his foot was not just stomped on nor scolded. Daphne's face relaxed as she forced a smile back upon her pretty face and her ice blue eyes landed back on Meadow. "Anyway, what did happen down there?"

So, Meadow was just about to tell them what had happened down in the chamber with Quirrell when Theodore caught sight of her left arm, which was unhidden by the Quidditch sleeve Meadow usually wore.

"Hang on," Theodore said pointing to it, "What is that from?"

Meadow looked at her arm, the ugly, pink, puffy scar that stretched from under the hospital wing shirt down to her wrist shown brightly against her olive skin. She squeaked in shame and immediately pulled the blankets up and around her; her face burning. "It's nothing, really. . ."

"No, it's not," Theodore insisted, tugging the blanket away. "I haven't seen that before."

"Of course, you haven't," Daphne snapped at him. "Why are you so thick? You can't tell me you've never seen the sleeve Meadow wears to cover it up."

"Well—I—er—I never noticed," Theodore stammered.

"Clearly," Daphne huffed.

Theodore looked rather vexed now that he had been called out for the second time, but he fell silent. Meadow wondered if things were not as good as they once had been between the two.

However, both sets of blue eyes were on her now. And so, Meadow told them about the Gringotts break-in at the beginning of term, finding out about the Philosopher's stone, putting the two together (miraculiously, as if Hagrid and Norbert weren't involved at all), getting past the three-headed dog on the third floor corridor, Hermione's quick wit during the Devil's Snare, Shane's bravery after nearly being killed, Ron's massive chess match, the knocked out troll, how she and Hermione solved the potion's riddle, and meeting Quirrell down in the chamber with You-Know-Who upon the back of his head.

Daphne was readily animated during the tale, oohing and awing in all the right places, she was leaning forward on the stool she pulled up, elbows resting upon Meadow's bed. Theodore, however, looked perplexed, standing at the foot of her bed, knuckles white while they grasp the metal footboard, and he did not ever utter a single word or sound.

When Meadow finished the tale, leaving out the flashbacks of the knocked-out troll, Shane's panic attack in the Key room, and the details of Snape trying to save Harry's life because Snape was saved by James Potter, Daphne's eyes were wide and doll-like. Theodore still had a vague look of confusion upon his stone face, though, he did not question or biliterate the tale.

"Wow," Daphne breathed. "That's loads different from what people are saying. . . I never would have guessed that the Philosopher's Stone was hidden here, in the castle. I mean, Gringotts is supposed to be the safest place in the world."

"What are you two still doing in here?" Madam Pomfrey barked at Daphne and Theodore, "Out. Out. Meadow needs her rest."

-.-.-

"Just five minutes," Harry pleaded with Madam Pomfrey.

The healer was a very nice, but very strict woman who liked her Hospital Wing quiet, clean, and peaceful.

"Absolutely not," she replied to Harry crisply.

"You let Professor Dumbledore in. . ."

"Well, of course, that was the headmaster, quite different. You need _rest,_" Madam Pomfrey replied as she fixed a blanket on the end of Meadow's bed. She was sitting crisscrossed on her bed pouring over a book on potions. Hoping that she'd find some sort of information about werewolves from the Wolfsbane Potion. However, at hearing Harry's voice, she closed the book and looked at Madam Pomfrey.

"He is resting," Meadow pointed out, "Laying down and everything. Just five minutes. I've heard them out there for the past three days asking to see us."

"Oh, go on, Madam Pomfrey. . ." Harry added his voice trailed in the smallest hint of a whine.

"Oh, very well," she said briskly, though a frown was on her face as if she disapproved of visitors at any point under her care. "But five minutes _only._"

She let Shane, Hermione, and Ron into the Hospital Wing and the three rushed over as quickly as they could while still walking under Madam Pomfrey's hard stare.

"_Harry! Doe!"_

Shane came right over and threw his arms around Meadow, tears building in his eyes as he buried his head into the crook of her neck. Meadow put her arms around him and rubbed circles on his back in a nurturing way. During this exchange, Meadow didn't see the other three Gryffindors' eyes roam her left arm, looking at the scar from the troll attack. Of course, she didn't really care if they had saw, all of them were there that night and saw how badly she was beat up. Thankfully, none of them said anything, keeping the ashamed thoughts away from Meadow as she was unaware of the exchange.

When Meadow looked up, she saw that Hermione looked ready to fling her arms around her and Harry again, but she held herself together. "Oh, Harry, Doe," Hermione went on looking at each of them, "We were sure you were going to—Dumbledore was so worried—"

"The whole school's talking about it," Ron said. "What _really _happened?"

Shane pushed away from Meadow, though his shaggy brown hair was in his eyes. "What happened after you all left the key room too?"

Ron grinned as he filled Shane in on the Chess room, or at least before what happened when he was knocked out. Hermione then picked up after Ron, saying that Harry checked the King and that they won the game. She glanced quickly at Meadow, who very slightly shook her head no. Hermione said the troll in the next room was knocked out, not mentioning Meadow's blunder, though, even Meadow wasn't sure what happened to her while she was having flashbacks.

"The potions room was next," Hermione said, bringing Meadow back to reality.

Meadow was leaning against Shane, who had an arm around her. Meadow closed her eyes and Hermione continued, explaining the essence of the puzzle given and how Meadow figured it out quickly, and Hermione had found the same conclusion just slower. She went on to tell the boys that Meadow had brought an expanding potion with and used that to continue into the following room with Harry.

Harry's voice took over for Hermione. The four listening, Meadow, Hermione, Shane, and Ron, became a great audience for him as he explained what happened. Every once and awhile, he'd glance at Meadow, who gave her point of view from under the invisibility cloak, especially since Meadow had been the one to get the stone. It was Harry's turn to gasp when he heard what happened, "So that's why the mirror showed me where you were?"

_Meadow scurried away as fast as possible as Harry slowly rose to his feet. Meadow wasn't sure what Harry saw in that mirror, but as soon as he looked into it, his eyes snapped onto the exact spot Meadow was standing. It was as if Harry knew exactly where she was._

"I was wondering if that's what is showed you," Meadow grinned as she repositioned her head onto Shane's shoulder.

"What happened then?" Ron asked, his whole face shinning with longing to hear the rest of the story.

Harry grinned and jumped back into it, telling the three how a voice spoke, and then Quirrell taking off his turban to reveal Voldemort on the back of his head. Hermione let out a petrified, small scream.

"So the Stone's gone?" Ron said finally, looking between the two. "Flamel's just going to _die?_"

"That's what I said, but Dumbledore thinks that—what was it?—" he looked at Meadow, who opened her eyes at Harry's stumbling, "'to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.'"

"I always said he was off his rocker," Ron said, looking impressed at how crazy his hero was.

"So, what happened to you three?" Harry asked Shane, Hermione, and Ron.

"Well, I got back all right," Hermione replied, she sat herself down at the foot of Harry's bed while Ron had drawn up the stool Daphne had earlier. "I brought Ron round—that took a while—and we were dashing up to the owlery to contact Dumbledore when we met him in the entrance hall—he already knew—he just said, 'Harry's gone after him, hasn't he?' and hurtled off to the third floor."

"I did yell after him that Meadow was down there too," Shane added quietly and gave Meadow's arm an affectionate squeeze.

"D'you think he meant you to do it?" Ron asked Harry. "Sending you your father's cloak and everything?"

"_Well,"_ Hermione exploded sternly and appalled, "if he did—I mean to say—that's terrible—you could have been killed!"

"No, it isn't," Harry said thoughtfully with a small smile upon his face. "He's a funny man, Dumbledore. I think he sort of wanted to give me a chance. I think he knows more or less everything that goes on here, you know. I reckon he had a pretty good idea we were going to try, and instead of stopping us, he just taught us enough to help. I don't think it was an accident he let me find out how the mirror worked. It's almost like he thought I had the right to face Voldemort if I could. . ."

"What about me then?" Meadow asked, sitting up right. "I—er—I found that mirror the night before you. . . I was out wandering the halls. . . Hm—it was lonely down in the Slytherin Dungeon," she flushed under the Gryffindors' eyes.

"You never said," Harry replied blinking at her surprised.

"I didn't want to bother you all," Meadow said quietly and she looked down at the floor. "But if Dumbledore knows just about everything that happens around here, why would he lead me to the chamber too? He must have already known that it was Quirrell after the Stone?"

A pause hit the five young kids, all of whom felt much older than eleven and twelve years old. "Maybe he knew you'd want to face Snape if it was him," Harry said. "To give you a chance to prove yourself to you. . . and maybe see how loyal you are to doing the right thing."

Meadow frowned, but nodded.

"Well, Dumbledore's off his rocker, all right," Ron said proudly. "Listen, Harry, you've got to be up for the end-of-year feast tomorrow. The points are all in and Slytherin won, of course—you missed the last Quidditch match, we were steamrollered by Ravenclaw without you—but the food'll be good."

At that moment, Madam Pomfrey bustled over. "You've had nearly fifteen minutes, now OUT," she said firmly, ushering the three Gryffindors out of the hospital wing.

-.-.-

That night, Meadow tossed and turned as she dreamed of the troll attack on Halloween, and then the troll turned around and that horrifying face of Voldemort was on the back of the troll's head, screaming "KILL HER! KILL HER!" As the troll blundered around, swinging his club awkwardly as Voldemort's face was kept towards her.

Meadow woke with a start; thankful the morning sun was peaking between the mountains that lay in the view of the hospital wing windows. She got up and went to the bathroom at the end of the ward. Meadow started a bath, letting the water fill the tub up with thick bubbles before she got in to relax. She couldn't remember the last time she took a bath, she had been taking showers for during the whole school year and even before that it must have been years.

She let the water run over her body as she scrubbed her skin clean from any remaining dried blood and dirt that Madam Pomfrey had missed during the sponge baths.

-.-.-

Unsure of how much time had passed, Meadow got out of the bath, put her school uniform on that had been laid out for her, as Madam Pomfrey must have known where she was, and brushed her tangled hair. Looking in the mirror, Meadow was unsure of herself, she had the same face, hair, and uniform as she always had, but it was like staring at a stranger. But, maybe it would become different as she grew older and more confident with who she was.

When Meadow came out of the bathroom, Hagrid was at Harry's bed, crying.

"VOLDEMORT!" Harry bellowed at him and Hagrid was so shocked that he stopped crying, Meadow flinched at the shout and then hurried over. "I've met him and I'm calling him by his name. Please cheer up, Hagrid, we saved the Stone, it's gone, he can't use it. Have a Chocolate Frog, I've got loads. . ."

As Meadow reached the bed that Harry now sat upon out of the covers, Hagrid wiped his nose on the back of his hand and said, "That reminds me. I've got yeh a present."

"It's not a stoat sandwich, is it?" Harry asked anxiously, and Hagrid gave a weak chuckle.

A smile twitched on Meadow's lips as she realized that Harry was not angry, no. Harry was content, he gave her a small smile as she approached the two. Hagrid was not as upset with himself as he once was, as his tears dried and his warm, black eyes once again gave off a fatherly love that Meadow only wished to had seen in her own father's black eyes.

"Nah. Dumbledore gave me the day off yesterday ter fix it," Hagrid said, giving a slight laugh and sniffle. "'Course, he shoulda sacked me instead—anyway, got yeh this. . ."

A handsome, leather-bound book looked miniscule in Hagrid's large hands. Meadow tucked her legs under her as she sat next to Harry, who opened the book curiously. Suddenly, a flush kept up to Meadow's cheeks, she felt like she had invaded Harry's privacy as a bunch of wizard photographs were smiling and waving up at them from every page. The two people in those photographs were Lily and James Potter, Harry's parents.

"Sent owls off ter all yer parents' old school friends, askin' fer photos. . . knew yeh didn' have any. . . d'yeh like it?"

Harry couldn't speak, but Hagrid understood.

Giving Harry some space to look at the photographs, Meadow edged away from Harry, closer towards Hagrid. Who beamed at her and chatted with Meadow, happy to see her up and moving, alive.

But Meadow's heart wasn't quite in the conversation. The overpowering emotion of sorrow filled her, she wished that her father would be there, talking with her instead of Hagrid.

-.-.-

Meadow and Harry made their way down to the end-of-year feast that night, a comfortable silence between them. They had been held up by Madam Pomfrey's fussing about, insisting on giving them both a last checkup before she begrudgingly sent the two on their way. Since this prolonged heading down to the Great Hall early, the hall was already full.

A sudden hush fell over the crowd as the two walked in, but all eyes were on Harry. Meadow bid Harry a farewell, as she split off to go join the Daphne and Theodore at the Slytherin table. Everyone started talking loudly at once, eyes mostly on Harry, but casting glances at Meadow as well. As Meadow sat herself down between Miles and Terence, she looked around at the hall, trying to ignore other students that had stood up to get a look at her or Harry, it had been decked out in green and silver to celebrate Slytherin's winning the house cup for the seventh year in a row. A huge banner showing the Slytherin serpent covered the wall behind the High Table.

Fortunately, Professor Dumbledore arrived moments later. The babble died away.

"Another year gone!" Dumbledore said cheerfully. "And I must trouble you with an old man's wheezing waffle before we sink our teeth into our delicious feast. What a year it has been! Hopefully your heads are all a little fuller than they were. . . you have the whole summer ahead to get them nice and empty before next year starts. . .

"Now, as I understand it, the house cup here needs awarding, and the points stand thus: Tied for third place, Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, both with three hundred and fifty-two points each; Ravenclaw, in second, has four hundred and twenty-six, and Slytherin, four hundred and eighty-two."

Meadow cheered alongside the eruption of stamping, whoops, and screams from her house. Draco was banging his goblet on the table.

"Yes, yes, well done, Slytherin," Dumbledore said, waving his hand in a downward motion, as if to reclaim silence, though with his next words the room became very still once again, "However, recent events must be taken into account."

The smiles faded off of most of the Slytherin's faces, and Meadow looked up to the Headmaster puzzled.

"Ahem," Dumbledore cleared his throat, "I have a few last-minute points to dish out. Let me see. Yes. . ."

"First—to Miss Meadow Snape. . ."

A deep scarlet blush rose to Meadow's face and she felt extremely hot as many eyes landed on her, ogling at her.

". . . for unwavering loyalty and determination to find the truth, I award Slytherin house sixty points."

The Slytherin house rose into another cheering storm. Terence pulled Meadow into a half hug as he shook her with excitement. Slytherin's house points were now up to five hundred and forty-two points. And in most of the eyes of students, there would be no way other houses could catch up to the Slytherins.

When there was silence again Dumbledore continued. "Second—to Mr. Shane Lupin. . . for the use of music in the face of death, I award Gryffindor house twenty points."

Gryffindor clapped halfheartedly, and then realized what had happened—cheering loudly and hard. Meadow beamed over at a very pale looking Shane, who looked embarrassed.

"Third to Mr. Ronald Weasley. . . for the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years, I award Gryffindor house fifty points."

"That's my brother!" Percy Weasley's voice yelled excitedly over the cheers that erupted from Gryffindor table again.

"Fourth to Miss Hermione Granger. . . for the use of cool logic in the face of fire, I award fifty points. . ."

Meadow watched from the other side of the hall, as Hermione had burst into tears and buried her face in her arms. Gryffindors up and down the table were beside themselves—they were a hundred and twenty points up.

"Fifth—to Mr. Harry Potter. . ." Dumbledore said and the room went deadly quiet. ". . . for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor house sixty points."

The uproar was deafening. Those who could add up while yelling themselves hoarse knew that Gryffindor was 10 points away from Slytherin, closer than anyone had ever thought the two houses would be.

Dumbledore raised a hand and the room gradually fell silent. "There are all kinds of courage," he went on, smiling. "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. I therefore award ten points to Mr. Neville Longbottom."

Meadow's jaw dropped and she joined in with the cheering. "GOOD JOB NEVILLE!" She screamed, but Neville was white from shock before he disappeared under the Gryffindors who were hugging him. If anyone had been standing outside the Great Hall they might have thought some explosion had taken place. Meadow's hands were numb from clapping so hard, if anyone deserved points, Neville was at the top of her list.

-.-.-

The cheers from the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws did not die out for at least five minutes. Once the Hall cheers had quieted a small amount where Dumbledore could call over them all again, he made his voice heard, "Which means, we need a little change of decoration."

He clapped his hands; in an instant, the green hangings alternated with scarlet and gold; next to the huge Slytherin serpent appeared a large Gryffindor lion. Meadow glanced up to the head table, where Professor Snape was shaking hands with Professor McGonagall, with a horrible, forced smile.

Despite Slytherin tying the Gryffindors with the house cup, it still felt like a victory for the other houses over Slytherin, and the classmates among Meadow had ugly, twisted frowns upon their faces. They weren't happy with sharing the glory of winning the house cup. But to Meadow, it didn't matter, it was the best evening of her life, better than coming to Hogwarts or defending the Stone. She'd never forget tonight.

"This will not happen every year, in fact, I don't believe there has been a tie in the House Cup Award, though I may be mistaken," Dumbledore continued, "Congratulations Gryffindor and Slytherin."

The cheers roared again, and Meadow beamed.

-.-.-

Meadow almost forgot about exam results, but they did. To her surprise, Meadow got better marks in Potions and Transfiguration than Hermione, whom, of course, had the best grades of the first years. Daphne and Theodore comfortably passed the exams, somewhere in the middle of top marks and average marks. Harry, Ron, and Shane passed with good marks. Much to the Gryffindors' disappointment, Crabbe and Goyle passed their exams too. Draco had already gone back to marching around the corridors as if he were king of the school due to his high grades.

Meadow received bad news that weekend before the train ride back. She was going to Malfoy Manor for two weeks while Severus attended teacher meetings and cleaned up the school, preparing it for empty halls during the summer holiday. She was angry yet again at her father for not just allowing her to stay with Shane and Remus, who lived near Spinner's End. Or for Ms. Kashmire to not be hired again. However, before Meadow could even start to rant and rave about how unfair it was, her father cut off the conversation and demanded her to act her age and not as a child. Forgoing the idea that Meadow was still, in fact, a child.

The next week, everyone's wardrobes were empty, their trunks were packed, Neville's toad was found lurking in a corner of the toilets; notes were handed out to all students, warning them not to use magic over the holidays; Hagrid was there to take the seventh years down to the fleet of boats that sailed across the Black Lake while the first years took the horseless carriages for the first time; students everywhere boarded the Hogwarts Express; talking and laughing as the countryside became greener and tidier.

Meadow hopped back and forth from compartment to compartment between her Slytherin and Gryffindor friends. As the train pulled closer to King's Cross Station that afternoon, Meadow gave her Gryffindor friends huge farewells, she wasn't sure when she'd see them next. If at all until next school year.

"Good luck," Harry said to her.

"Don't turn too fowl," Ron added.

"If you need anything, just send an owl," Hermione said looking upset.

Shane gave Meadow a huge hug. A lot had changed since they were at Muggle school together, but at least they were still friends. He didn't say anything to her, but as the train rounded the last corner to the station Meadow smiled at all of them, "Don't worry, I'll be just fine. Have a good summer holiday—hopefully we can all get together."

And that was the last she said to her Gryffindor friends as she wandered back into her Slytherin compartment, where Daphne, Theodore, Gabriel, and Bhu all stood gathering up their trunks from the overhead compartment.

As the train came to a halt, Draco came to the compartment, frowning in his best, black Muggle preppy-looking clothes. "Come on, Meadow," he sneered. "Wouldn't want to keep Father waiting."

Meadow frowned, maybe Draco really had changed over the school year since being around Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy all the time. "Of course," she replied coolly. "Have a good holiday," she turned to her friends.

Daphne hugged her and Meadow squeezed back. Theodore stuck out his hand to shake hers, which Meadow laughed at, but took it. Bhu and Gabriel engulfed her in a hug and kissed her cheeks. "Have a great holiday!" they cheered as Meadow dragged her trunk and Bee after Draco.

Great was a word Meadow wouldn't use to describe her first few weeks of summer holiday, but nevertheless, Meadow assumed her break from school would be nice to relax and become refreshed before the next term.

-.-.-


	27. Authors Note

**A/N: **

**I will be taking a break to finetune the details of Book 2: The Chamber of Secrets! **

**I hope you all enjoyed Book 1: The Philosopher's Stone with Meadow Snape. Let me know how you think of it all! **

**Are you enjoying Meadow? How about her internal conflict with Snape? What do you think will happen when she spends that time with Draco at Malfoy Manor? Will she begin to lose her way?**

**What do you think will happen to Meadow in this next book? Will she become an outcast to the Gryffindors? Will she continue to struggle with her friendships between Gryffindor and Slytherin? What will happen with Draco this holiday?—will they become closer friends or will they become enemies? **

**-.-.-**

**I know I generally post every month (and honestly, very badly these last few months), but I have some kinks to work out for this next book. For all of you who are new—I'd rather not spoil it, however, for those of you who are OGs (or have read my profile before I just edited it), you all obviously know who I introduced last time during Book Two. And therefore, it must take some extra time to fit in this character to the timeline as well as to define details that were neglected when I was 13/14 years old. **

**I am currently much happier with the story I am telling now, especially after I have been listening to the Harry Potter series on youtube with Sidecar Stories. In the movies, Severus Snape is displayed as a nastily good grey character who does little to nothing to Harry except give him dirty looks and snap at him occasionally. Book Severus Snape is a much darker character who does go out of his way to make Harry's life horrible. Therefore, it is included in this story. And hopefully perceived as much on Meadow's end. Movie Snape is the one I remember most—and I based the original "roughdraft" of Meadow's story to be on the movies. However, given how it was poorly written the first go around (keep in mine I was roughly 12 years old when I started it), and how many plot holes there were. **

**I am going back through and editing this story to make more sense and be more appeasing (which I do hope I had made apparent during the very first author's note in chapter 1). However, I am not making any changes to the characters I had already introduced—aka. They will be appearing, however long or short that might be. **

**In the Chamber of Secrets there will be many changes to the original Meadow Snape's Story as well as differences from the book. As many of you know, the HP series is written mostly from Harry's POV. Obviously, Miracle is written from Meadow's POV and will continue to do so. Keep in mind that Meadow may **_**not**_** witness everything the Gryffindors do or figure out on their own. Again, that will be true for all the other books. Book 1 was easy to merge both Meadow and the Gryffindor, however, it will not be the case for the rest.**

**So, before any of you come for me saying "wtf, this doesn't make any sense." "That's so unfair of the adults to treat Harry like some dumb kid." Etc. I just want you all to remember that Harry was treated like some dumb kid by Dumbledore for five books, until he finally came out and told Harry about his plan for him, why he had to live at the Dursley's every summer, why Voldemort tried to kill him as a baby. . . **

**First, things take time to tell, especially when these kids are as young as eleven or twelve; even thirteen and fourteen-year old's don't fully grasp what it means to be an adult. (I'm sorry for any of you who are of that age reading this, but it's one of those things where you don't fully understand the gravity of certain situations until you are older). **

**Second, Miracle is being told from *mostly* Meadow's point of view. Especially in these earlier books, Meadow is the main story teller. It may change depending on where Meadow goes further on in these books. But again, Meadow isn't apart of the Potter, Weasley, Granger, or Lupin world. She is apart of the Snape world, and now Malfoy world. So, she won't know of behind the scenes details of anyone but her, except she too, has to dig for details on her own life. **

**-.-.-**

**Still keeping to the theme of moving forward, I hope you all have a lovely summer! And Meadow will see you in the next book. **


End file.
